Norovirus Cruise Ship Outbreaks Already Reach 10-Year High In 2023

Talk about being ship out of luck. There have already been an unlucky 13 recorded norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships under U.S. jurisdiction so far in 2023. That’s the highest tally in 10-years, ever since 16 such outbreaks occurred in 2012, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vessel Sanitation Program. And with half of 2023 still to go, there’s a good chance that the 2012 count will be surpassed sometime later this year.

Nearly every month this year has had its ship outbreaks. There were already three outbreaks by February 3 of this year, seven that crossed the month of March, and two in May. June had one as well, affected a Viking Cruises ship that traveled from June 6 to June 20. This outbreak left 110 of 838 (13.1%) passengers and nine of 455 (1.98%) crew members sick in a bad way. Norovirus outbreaks have hit ships from a range of different cruise ship companies including Viking Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Holland America, Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, and P&O Cruises. Yeah, even though norovirus is known as the “Winter vomiting bug,” it’s activity is not necessarily confined to the colder months.

The “vomiting” should be a tip off as to what may happen when you get infected with norovirus. Such infections are a match made in heaving so to speak. The most common symptoms of a norovirus infection are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramping. You can also get a low-grade fever, chills, a headache, and muscle aches. Such symptoms tend to emerge rather suddenly about one or two days after the virus has gone down your pie hole.

And these symptoms can be quite severe too. Norovirus often isn’t just your typical I’m-feeling-a-little-sick-so-I-may-pass-on-shuffleboard type of gastroenteritis. No, a norovirus infection can consist of projectile vomiting and explosive diarrhea. Projecting your voice, feelings, or insecurities is one thing. Projecting you vomit is something completely different. Similarly, you’ve got to be careful about anything that could explode in your pants.

Norovirus is also known as the “Cruise ship virus” because conditions on cruise ships can stack the deck for the spread of norovirus, so to speak. Typically, a cruise ship will have dozens, hundreds, and in some cases thousands of people sharing surfaces, objects, food, drink, and who-knows-what-else over extended period of times. If anyone brings about the virus, it could readily spread rapidly. Norovirus is highly infectious, as I’ve described for Forbes previously. Just 18 virus particles can get you infected. Plus, hand sanitizer and cleaning materials that don’t contain something more powerful like bleach may not get rid of the virus from a surface.

It’s really not that surprising that norovirus outbreaks have already reached a high water mark this year. As many Covid-19 precautions went the way of sweater vests in late 2022, it’s probably not a coincidence that this past Winter saw a surge of norovirus cases in general, as I reported for Forbes on February 10, 2023. On top of that, cruise ships returned to full operations for the entire calendar for the first time since early 2020. Throw in the whole idea of “revenge travel” with people scrambling to catch up on travel delayed by the pandemic, and you’ve got a bunch of set ups for norovirus outbreaks.

So if you are about to go cruising, how do you avoid getting a norovirus infection, beside, of course, not going on the cruise? One is to wash your darn hands frequently and thoroughly. Use soap and water since hand sanitizer may not kill or inactivate the virus. Just because many have eased up on Covid-19 precautions doesn’t mean that you should stop washing your hands. If have stopped washing your hands, please don’t go to any parties, ever.

Secondly, clean and disinfect high touch surfaces such as doorknobs, faucets, handles, and that statue of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the dining hall. Use either a chlorine bleach solution that has a concentration of at least 1,000 to 5,000 parts per million or use a disinfectant that’s registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as being effective versus norovirus.

Finally, if someone appears sick, keep you distance. For example, should someone tell you, “I am having some explosive diarrhea, but should still be able to dance with you,” tell them that “explosive diarrhea” is not something that you want to dance around.