Investigation Update on the Celebrity Millennium

Cruise Line: Celebrity Cruise Lines

Cruise Ship: Celebrity Millennium

Voyage Dates: April 25 to May 10, 2013

Number of passengers who have reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of passengers onboard: 123 of 1963 (6.275%)

Number of crew who have reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of crew onboard: 16 of 935 (1.71%)

Predominant symptoms: vomiting, diarrhea

Causative agent: Norovirus

Actions: In response to the outbreak, Celebrity Cruise Lines and the crew aboard the ship took the following actions:

• Increased cleaning and disinfection procedures according to their outbreak prevention and response plan,
• Making announcements to both notify onboard passengers of the outbreak and encourage case reporting,
• Collecting stool specimens from ill passengers and crew for submission to the CDC lab,
• Making twice daily reports of gastrointestinal illness cases to the VSP,
• Consulting with CDC on plans for:
  • Passenger notification procedures and the planned delayed embarkation schedule in Seward, Alaska on 10 May,
  • Disembarkation plans for active cases, terminal and transport infection control procedures.

CDC Vessel Sanitation Program officers are monitoring the outbreak and providing support to both the ship and the cruise line. Specimens will be sent to the CDC lab for testing.