Nearly 300 passengers aboard Caribbean-bound cruise ship fall ill; cause unknown

2010-02-24 06:16:48 (GMT) (JusticeNewsFlash.com - Justice News Flash, Personal Injury)

Wiki Image: Nearly 300 people fell ill on Celebrity Cruise ship.

Legal News for Personal Injury Attorneys. Approximately 300 people became sick while aboard Celebrity Cruise ship.

Personal injury lawyer alerts- Celebrity Cruise line ship passengers suffered from unknown gastrointestinal illness.

Charleston, S.C. (News)—Passengers aboard a cruise ship to the Caribbean began reporting feeling terribly ill on Sunday, February 21, 2010, subsequently overwhelming medical personnel and facilities aboard the vessel. It was reported that nearly 300 people seemingly acquired the unknown gastrointestinal (GI) illness, according to information provided by the Washington Post.

The Mercury, a Celebrity Cruise line ship, departed from Charleston, South Carolina on Monday, February 15, 2010, en route to the Caribbean islands. The outbreak of stomach ailments were not reported by passengers until Sunday and then announced by a cruise line spokesperson on Monday night, February 22, 2010. It is reported that around 15 percent of 1,800 people are aboard the cruise ship have reported suffering from the stomach sickness, in which symptoms allegedly include stomach discomfort, nausea, and diarrhea. With the sudden outbreak of illnesses overwhelming medical facilities, the ship reportedly brought an additional doctor and nurse onboard from the British Virgin Islands. Pathogen tests were being conducted in Puerto Rico and are reportedly pending.

From 2007 to 2010, 54 cruise ships reported outbreaks of gastrointestinal illnesses aboard vessels, which were collected by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) http://www.cdc.gov through the Vessel Sanitation Program, excluding this particular outbreak. Of these 54 cases, three occurred on Celebrity Cruise ships, all caused by the norovirus. Wikipedia http://www.wiki.org/ stated the norovirus “causes approximately 90 percent of epidemic non-bacterial outbreaks of gastroenteritis around the world”.

Legal News Reporter: Sandra Quinlan- Legal News for Personal Injury Lawyers.