Suspected outbreak of norovirus strikes cruise ship Crown Princess

THE latest instance of gastro on a cruise ship has seen the number of passengers struck down by illness double in days.

Ship 'Crown Princess' in Caribbean. Liner. Cruise.

OFFICIALS say the number of passengers believed to be sick with the highly contagious norovirus has nearly doubled aboard a cruise ship sailing to ports in California.

Princess Cruises spokeswoman Karen Candy said 66 passengers and 17 crew members were sick and had to be isolated to their cabins aboard the Crown Princess.

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That’s up from about 37 passengers who reported being sick while the ship was in San Francisco on Monday.

Officials believe norovirus is to blame for the illnesses. It is spread person-to-person and can include nausea and diarrhoea.

Ms Candy said the ship’s staff has disinfected door handles and other surfaces.

The 3000-passenger Crown Princess is on a seven-day cruise that includes stops in San Diego and Santa Barbara. It ends in Los Angeles on Saturday.

It’s the latest in a series of suspected norovirus outbreaks on ships sailing the US and Caribbean. Earlier this year, nearly 700 people on-board the Royal Caribbean ship Explorer of the Seas were struck down in one of the worst outbreaks in 20 years.