Officials in France have confined more than 1,700 passengers and crew members on a cruise ship because of a suspected norovirus outbreak.
The cruise ship, Ambition, was docked in Bordeaux. It’s out of the United Kingdom and was carrying mostly British and Irish passengers, The Guardian reported. About 50 people were showing symptoms, officials said.
One passenger, a 92-year-old man, died on the ship on Sunday, but his cause of death has not been determined. He had no symptoms of gastrointestinal illness, the BBC reported.
Norovirus causes gastrointestinal illness and is generally not deadly. It is not related to hantavirus, which affects the lungs and recently caused a deadly outbreak on a different cruise ship.
According to Ambassador Cruise Line, which owns the ship, the Ambition left Belfast on Friday and stopped in Liverpool on Saturday, the BBC reported. People reported more cases after this stop, representatives said.
“We would like to reassure guests that we take any illnesses aboard our fleet very seriously,” the company said in a statement. “Enhanced sanitation and prevention protocols were immediately implemented across the ship in line with established public health procedures following the initial reports of illness.”
These procedures included increased cleaning and disinfection measures in public areas, “assisted service” in some dining areas and guidance in terms of hygiene and illness for guests, it said.
French authorities said a medical team took samples on board the ship and was processing them to verify the type of illness.
