CDC reports norovirus outbreak on cruise ship docked in San Francisco, 145 sickened

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 145 people aboard the cruise ship Ruby Princess, docked in San Francisco, were sickened by a norovirus outbreak. The agency said 125 passengers and 20 crew members reported diarrhea and vomiting during a 20-day round-trip voyage to Alaska between June 12 and July 2. Princess Cruises, the ship's operator, said increased cleaning and disinfection protocols had reduced the number of cases and that remaining infections were limited. Affected passengers and crew were isolated, and samples were collected. The vessel was placed under a thorough cleaning process under the CDC's ship sanitation program. The company said the ship would undergo full disinfection before its next voyage. According to the CDC, norovirus was responsible for 17 of 23 outbreaks recorded on cruise ships last year. The incident comes about a month after a similar outbreak on the same company's Caribbean Princess sickened more than 100 passengers in the Eastern Caribbean. The Ruby Princess has a capacity of 3,080 passengers and 1,200 crew across 19 decks.