Cruise ship hit by norovirus vomiting bug
Source of Article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/3384390/Cruise-ship-hit-by-norovirus-vomiting-bug.html
British holiday makers are among up to 400 passengers
who have been quarantined on a cruise ship in Shanghai after the outbreak of a virulent
vomiting bug.
By Stephen Adams
Last Updated: 6:07PM GMT 05 Nov 2008
They have been stopped from
going ashore in China
after a break-out of the norovirus aboard the £250
million Diamond Princess, one of the world's largest
cruise liners.
Officials eventually let some
2,000 healthy passengers off the boat but decided to quarantine hundreds to
ensure it did not spread.
Among them was John Lloyd, from
Stevenage, Herts.
Mr Lloyd, 69, said: "We're
quarantined until 7.30am tomorrow, cooped up here with this virus, It has
been hellish. It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime."
Michelle Eist
said she was worried for her father Adrian Fowler, who suffers from angina.
Mr Fowler, from Margate, Kent,
is on board with his wife Rosemary.
Mrs Eist said:
"I am worried about what this virus will do to my father's health. He is
very poorly at the moment. The trip cost a lot."
It is thought British
passengers paid up to £4,000 for the three-week trip to Beijing.
The Diamond Princess belongs to
Princess Cruises, which is part of Carnival Corporation & PLC, the same
British-American global cruise company that owns P&O Cruises.
A spokesman said: "We have
taken measures to stop the spread of illness, including asking passengers who
are unwell to isolate themselves."
The norovirus,
which causes gastroenteritis, is spread by contaminated food or water or
person-to-person contact. It can spread very rapidly in enclosed environments
like cruise ships or hospitals.
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