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More than 170 passengers and crew members became ill from a norovirus outbreak on a cruise ship that docked in San Pedro on Sunday after a month-long trip.
Princess Cruises took passengers aboard a 28-day tour on the Crown Princess ship that took off at San Pedro on Oct. 18 and went to Hawaii and Tahiti, according to CBS Los Angeles. When it returned at 7 a.m. on Sunday, at least 158 of 3,009 passengers, and 14 out of 1,160 crew members got sick from the highly-contagious gastrointestinal illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Some of the symptoms of norovirus include vomiting and diarrhea. The illness can easily spread from an infected person through touching a contaminated surface or through contaminated food or water.
Over the final days of the trip, the crew began noticing more and more people experiencing symptoms of the illness.
Princess Cruises told KTLA that they've taken rigorous steps to cleaning and disinfecting the ship, and will take further steps with the passengers to prevent the norovirus from spreading.
“We have enacted our stringent disinfecting protocols, which includes an extensive deep cleaning in Los Angeles on Sunday before the ship embarks on its next voyage,” according to a statement from Princess Cruises.
After the ship is disinfected, it's scheduled to head off on a cruise along the Mexican Riviera, the L.A. Times reported.
This is the second time this year that passengers aboard the same Princess Cruises ship have contracted norovirus; 129 people were infected in April during a cruise along the California Coast in April, according to CBS News.
