Investigation Update on the Carnival Glory

Cruise Line: Carnival Cruise Line

Cruise Ship: Carnival Glory

Voyage Dates: August 6 – 11, 2012

Number of passengers who have reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of passengers onboard: 205 of 3652 (5.61%)

Number of crew who have reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of crew onboard: 3 of 1144 (0.26%)

Predominant symptoms: vomiting, diarrhea

Causative agent: Norvirus

Actions: In response to the outbreak, Carnival Cruise Line and the crew aboard the ship have taken the following actions:

• Increased cleaning and disinfection procedures according to their outbreak prevention and response plan,
• Made announcements to notify onboard passengers of the outbreak, encourage case reporting, and encourage hand hygiene,
• Collected stool specimens from ill passengers and crew for submission to the CDC lab,
• Made daily reports of gastrointestinal illness cases to the VSP,
• Consulted with CDC on plans for:
  • Next cruise passenger notification procedures,
  • Providing additional medical and public health staff to assist with the super-sanitization cleaning and disinfection between disembarkation and embarkation,
  • Disembarkation plans for active cases, terminal and transport infection control procedures, and
  • Additional management monitoring, and documentation of planned cleaning and disinfection protocols.

Two CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers will board the ship on arrival in New York, NY on August 11, 2012 to conduct an environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. Stool specimens will be sent to the CDC lab for testing.