Anchorage Daily News

A suspected norovirus outbreak on a Holland America cruise ship left 112 passengers ill in Seward, according to the state Division of Public Health.The outbreak affected about 8 1/2 percent of the 1,313 passengers on board, with another 12 of the 556 crew members reporting the illness, said epidemiologist Beth Funk.

The rumors of an outbreak followed the Veendam from port-to-port and prompted media inquiries through the week, but it wasn't until Monday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention got the report, which is required to be filed when more than 3 percent of the passengers become ill, she said.

Passengers initially began getting sick in Haines, when about 20 people reported the illness, she said. The vessel also ported in Juneau and Sitka before moving on the Seward.

Funk said she didn't think the virus had yet been tested to confirm it was norovirus, but she suspected it was based upon the symptoms.

Norovirus is a gastrointestinal ailment that usually causes vomiting and diarrhea, and lasts between 24 and 48 hours. It's highly contagious, making a closed environment like a cruise ship a prime setting for an outbreak.

Such outbreaks are relatively common on cruise ships for that reason, she said, and the vessels are usually sanitized before more passengers are loaded to prevent subsequent outbreaks, Funk said.

The Veendam berthed in Seward on Friday and the number of ill passengers prompted a local public health nurse to put out a preventative bulletin about hand-washing, according to Seward city manager Phillip Oates.

A spokeswoman for Holland America did not immediately return a phone message Monday.

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