dailyloe.com – More than 1,700 individuals are currently stranded aboard a cruise ship docked in France. This situation arises after a 90-year-old passenger died from suspected norovirus. French authorities confirmed the ship is docked in Bordeaux, where it arrived on Tuesday.
The quarantine is a result of an outbreak that began when approximately 50 passengers exhibited symptoms of norovirus. This highly contagious stomach virus leads to diarrhea and vomiting, raising health concerns among the travelers and crew on the Ambassador Cruise Line.
The cruise ship primarily carries British and Irish travelers and had departed from the Shetland Islands on May 6. This incident follows a separate virus outbreak on another vessel that resulted in three fatalities.
Previously, passengers aboard the MV Hondius experienced a hantavirus outbreak, which eventually led to their evacuation. Reports indicated that the hantavirus outbreak caused three deaths and affected several others.
A French woman, infected during the hantavirus outbreak, is in critical condition in a Paris hospital. She developed a severe form of the disease, leading to life-threatening issues with her lungs and heart.
Dr. Xavier Lescure, an infectious disease specialist at Bichat Hospital, stated that the woman is on a life-support device that pumps blood through an artificial lung. This device is described as the final stage of supportive care.
Health officials have reported a total of 11 hantavirus cases, with 9 confirmed. According to the World Health Organization director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, all cases have been linked to passengers or crew from the affected cruise ships.
Ghebreyesus stated, “At the moment, there is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak.” He cautioned that the situation could evolve, considering the long incubation period of the virus.
