Another Cruise Ship Quarantined Due to a Virus (2 photos) (photo)

A man has died on a cruise ship, but it is not related to the infamous hantavirus, French authorities emphasize.





French authorities have quarantined more than 1,700 people on the British cruise ship Ambition, which docked in Bordeaux. This occurred due to an outbreak of what is believed to be norovirus, which has killed a 90-year-old man on board. More than 50 passengers and crew members have also reported symptoms of the infection. Local authorities, including the regional health agency and the prefecture, have prohibited people from leaving the ship until laboratory tests are completed.

The Ambition cruise ship reportedly departed the Shetland Islands (Scotland) on May 6. During its cruise, the ship called in Belfast (Northern Ireland), Liverpool (UK), and Brest (France). After Bordeaux, the ship was scheduled to sail to Spain, but its continued route is now in question.



As a reminder, in early May, a hantavirus outbreak occurred on board the MV Hondius, a cruise ship en route from Argentina to Cape Verde. Three of the 147 passengers on board died. Following this incident, many media outlets began to stir panic about a new pandemic that could engulf the world. These sentiments were further fueled by later confirmed cases of infection in the United States, Switzerland, and Israel. Therefore, French authorities have specifically emphasized that the ship's isolation in Bordeaux is in no way related to hantavirus.

However, there's also less to like about norovirus. Highly contagious, it causes gastroenteritis (inflammation of the stomach and intestines) and is often transmitted through contaminated food, water, surfaces, or direct contact with an infected person. The virus is exceptionally resilient and requires an extremely small dose to cause infection.

The Ambition is owned by Ambassador Cruise Line, and most of the passengers are tourists from Britain and Ireland, according to France24.