More Than 150 Passengers on Diamond Princess Cruise Sickened by Viral Illness

More Than 150 Passengers on Diamond Princess Cruise Sickened by Viral Illness
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Jack Phillips
Jack Phillips
Breaking News Reporter
|Updated:

At least 150 passengers on board the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship operated by Princess Cruises, have been sickened with norovirus gastroenteritis, according to reports.

Typical symptoms include abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and vomiting.

New South Wales Health authorities said that a small number of crew members were also sickened.

“There have been 158 passengers and a very small number of crew with gastroenteritis seen at the ship’s medical clinic over the duration of the cruise, and the outbreak is under control,” Public health director Professor Mark Ferson said in a statement obtained by the ABC. “There have been no medical disembarkations or patients requiring hospitalisation.”

One passenger told the broadcaster that she believed the virus began spreading after a passenger failed to say they were sick.

“Somebody had come on five days earlier and hadn’t reported it, so that’s obviously what started it off,” she said. “When anyone got sick you were supposed to report it to them immediately, then you were quarantined.”

Jack Phillips
Jack Phillips
Breaking News Reporter
Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter who covers a range of topics, including politics, U.S., and health news. A father of two, Jack grew up in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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