Illness Strikes 200 on Cruise Ship

A norovirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship near Australia has left 200 passengers sick and confined to their cabins, health officials said.

Princess Cruises, which operates the ship, said it has taken measures to prevent the spread of the disease, the New Zealand Herald reports. Crew members aboard the Dawn Princess, which is en route to Australia from New Zealand, have taken measures to disinfect surfaces to prevent the spread of the disease. The ship has a doctor on board responsible for overseeing the situation and the health of all 1,500 passengers.

“It takes relatively few cases to be reported onboard for even more stringent sanitation levels to be implemented,” the company said in a statement. “The containment response worked effectively and the number of new cases declined significantly.”

Norovirus, a gastrointestinal virus transmitted through blood and urine, causes diarrhea and vomiting and lasts one to three days.

[New Zealand Herald]

Subscribe to TIME

Get our Health Newsletter. Sign up to receive the latest health and science news, plus answers to wellness questions and expert tips.

Please enter a valid email address.

* The request timed out and you did not successfully sign up. Please attempt to sign up again.

Sign Up Now

An unexpected error has occurred with your sign up. Please try again later.

Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME.

You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you!

For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder.

Write to Justin Worland at justin.worland@time.com.