The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports Oceana Cruises’ ship Marina arrived at the Port of Miami on March 15, 2011 with 39 passengers and 29 crew sick from gastrointestinal illness.
In response, Oceana Cruises:
- Increased cleaning and disinfection procedures according to their outbreak prevention and response plan,
- Made announcements to both notify passengers and encourage case reporting,
- Provide full service at all buffet and self-service food outlets,
- Preparing a ship turnaround disinfection plan for the Miami arrival 16 March, and will submit to VSP for review,
- Collecting stool specimens from ill passengers and crew for submission to the CDC lab, and,
- Making daily reports of gastrointestinal illness cases to the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program.
This is the third cruise ship to arrive at a Florida port with an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness within three months. On January 8th, Royal Caribbean Cruises’ Radiance of the Seas sailed into Tampa with 150 passenger and 3 crew ill with Norovirus; and, on February 6, Celebrity Cruises’ ship Solstice sailed into Port Everglades with 188 passengers and 10 crew ill.
