Nearly 90 Cruise Guests, Crew Sick In Third Holland America Norovirus Outbreak This Year

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Nearly 90 people got sick in a norovirus outbreak on a Holland America Line cruise.

Seventy-nine of the Eurodam ship’s 2,057 guests reported being sick during its current voyage, along with nine crew members, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Their main symptoms were vomiting and diarrhea.

The ship departed Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Feb. 19 for a 10-day Caribbean cruise, according to CruiseMapper. Scheduled stops include Turks and Caicos, the Dominican Republic, Aruba and more.

A Holland America spokesperson told USA TODAY that the “cases were mostly mild and quickly resolved.”

“We initiated enhanced sanitation protocols in conjunction with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to minimize further transmission, including continuous disinfection of the ship,” they said in an emailed statement. The line also isolated sick passengers and employees, among other measures, according to the CDC.

The cases mark the eighth gastrointestinal illness outbreak on cruises to meet the health agency’s threshold for public notification so far this year. Three of those took place on Holland America ships, all of which were caused by norovirus.

Outbreaks typically happen more in the winter when the weather is colder, according to the health agency. The illness is often associated with cruise ships, but those make up only 1% of all reported outbreaks.

Dr. Dean Winslow, a professor of medicine and pediatrics at Stanford Medicine, told USA TODAY last month that outbreaks usually occur in congregate settings, especially where people eat and drink. That includes cruises, universities, nursing homes and “even hospitals,” he said.

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.