More than 1,700 people are trapped aboard a cruise ship docked in France after a 90-year-old passenger died from suspected norovirus — just days after a separate virus killed three and sickened multiple others on a different cruise.
Passengers and crew traveling on the Ambassador Cruise Line are being forced to remain on the vessel after arriving in Bordeaux on Tuesday, French authorities said.
The quarantine comes after an elderly passenger died after roughly 50 people started showing symptoms of norovirus — a highly contagious stomach virus that causes diarrhea and vomiting.
More than 1,700 passengers are stranded aboard the Ambassador Cruise Line ship in France. Corbis via Getty Images
The Ambassador ship is currently docked in France. Corbis via Getty Images
The ship, which is carrying mostly British and Irish travelers, had set off from the Shetland Islands on May 6.
The outbreak came just days after passengers stranded on the MV Hondius were finally evacuated after a rare outbreak of hantavirus killed three people and sickened multiple others.
A French woman infected in the hantavirus outbreak is currently critically ill in a Paris hospital after developing a severe form of the disease that has caused life-threatening lung and heart problems.
The woman remains on a life-support device that pumps blood through an artificial lung, providing it with oxygen and returning it to the body, said Dr Xavier Lescure, an infectious disease specialist at Bichat Hospital.
He added that the device “the final stage of supportive care.”
Passengers aboard the Ambition stand outside the deck after they were confined to the ship following a suspected norovirus outbreak. AFP via Getty Images
A 3D illustration of norovirus. ktsdesign – stock.adobe.com
The deadly hantavirus outbreak has now reached 11 total reported cases, 9 of which have been confirmed, according to health officials.
World Health Organization director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the confirmed and suspected cases have only been reported among the cruise ship’s passengers or crew.
Passengers stand outside the Ambition after it’s docked in France. AFP via Getty Images
“At the moment, there is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak,” he said.
“But of course the situation could change, and given the long incubation period of the virus, it’s possible we might see more cases in the coming weeks.”
With Post wires
