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CDC Confirms ‘Unknown’ Outbreak Spreading on Cruise Ship

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has officially confirmed an outbreak of an “unknown” illness on the Queen Victoria cruise ship. The outbreak was initially reported in early February when 15 individuals on the cruise ship experienced symptoms of an undiagnosed illness, including vomiting and diarrhea.

Despite efforts to contain the mystery illness, the CDC revealed that the outbreak has escalated, with at least 154 people affected – 129 passengers and 25 crew members. The Queen Victoria cruise ship, operated by Cunard Cruise Line, currently hosts 1,824 passengers and 967 crew members.

The cause of the outbreak remains “unknown,” leaving health officials and cruise operators grappling with the challenge of identifying and containing the source. The CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program, dedicated to preventing and controlling the spread of gastrointestinal illnesses on cruise ships, is closely monitoring the situation.

Cunard Cruise Line has implemented enhanced cleaning and disinfection procedures, isolated affected passengers and crew, and informed all current and embarking passengers about the situation.

The Queen Victoria cruise ship is currently on a 55-day voyage that began on January 22 in Hamburg, Germany. Despite the ongoing outbreak, the ship is scheduled to arrive in Apia, Samoa, on Tuesday, with the voyage concluding in Sydney, Australia, on March 4.

While the CDC report has not yet identified the specific cause of the outbreak, norovirus has historically been the most common source of illnesses on cruise ships. Norovirus is a highly contagious virus known to cause vomiting and diarrhea.

Photo credit: Flickr

Watch: Cruise Ship Crushes the Dock and Smaller Boat in Horrifying Video as People Run for Their Lives

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By The Daily Caller. The massive cruise ship absolutely crushed the dock and a smaller boat while in Venice, Italy. People on the dock took off running after it became clear the cruise ship was about to make impact. . .

You have to love the speed of the people on the dock once they realized a massive cruise ship might crush into them. They looked like they were running the 40 yard dash at the NFL combine.

Best of luck to the people running the show when they have to explain how the hell this happened. I don’t envy their position at all. (Read more from “Watch: Cruise Ship Crushes the Dock and Smaller Boat in Horrifying Video as People Run for Their Lives” HERE)

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Cruise Ship Rams Tourist Boat in Busy Venice Canal, Four Hurt

By CNN. . .The cruise ship, MSC Opera, rammed into the San Basilio terminal, and hit a smaller tourist boat — the River Countess — that was docked there, the local port authority told CNN.

Four people suffered “light injuries” in the accident, it said.

The incident happened at around 8.30am local time on the Giudecca canal, one of the busiest in the Italian city which is hugely popular with tourists. . .

The cruise ship operator, MSC Cruises, said in a statement that the vessel “experienced a technical issue” while heading towards the terminal for mooring. (Read more from “Cruise Ship Rams Tourist Boat in Busy Venice Canal, Four Hurt” HERE)

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Alaska Conservationists Concerned With Cruise Ship Rules

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Photo Credit: APTowering cruise ships, sometimes four at a time, sit at port in Juneau at the peak of summer, delivering tourists important to the economy of this and other southeast Alaska communities. But some conservationists worry about what the ships could be leaving in Alaska waters and are fighting proposed new rules for the discharge of treated wastewater . . .

Over the years, Alaska has rolled back provisions of a 2006 citizen initiative that called for cruise ship wastewater to meet water quality standards at the point of discharge. In 2013, for example, the Legislature struck that discharge requirement, saying instead that wastewater cannot be discharged in a way that violates applicable state or federal law.

The 2013 law allowed for mixing zones, where wastewater can be diluted into the water, if ships meet certain standards for treatment of discharge. The change followed a debated preliminary report from a science advisory panel that found none of the advanced wastewater treatment systems on ships operating in Alaska waters could consistently meet water quality standards at the point of discharge for four “constituents of concern:” ammonia, copper, nickel and zinc.

The proposed general permit, under which ships can apply to be covered, are based on that law. (Read more about the concerns from the Alaska conservationists HERE)

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Watch: Disney Cruise Line Rescues Man at Sea, All Caught on Video

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A man who fell overboard from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship off the coast of Cozumel, Mexico, was rescued hours later by a passing Disney Cruise Line ship after a passenger heard him calling for help, ABC News reported on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old man, who was not identified by authorities, somehow fell off the Royal Caribbean ship during the early-morning hours of Jan. 8, according to ABC.

Scott Campbell, a passenger on the Disney Cruise Line, told ABC that he was on his balcony with his daughter at about 6:30 a.m. when he heard the man calling for help.

“I’ll never forget the scream, ‘Somebody help me,'” Campbell told the network.

A Disney spokeswoman confirmed that the Disney Magic cruise ship picked up a passenger who had fallen overboard from another cruise ship on Jan. 8 but declined further comment. (Read more about the man rescued by Disney cruise line HERE)

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