At a glance
Learn about the gastrointestinal illness outbreak on Holland America ship Koningsdam in March 2024, including outbreak details and actions taken in response.
Outbreak details
Cruise Line: Holland America Line
Cruise Ship: Koningsdam
Voyage Dates: February 17–March 24, 2024
Voyage number: 286
Final case counts:
- Number of passengers who reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of passengers onboard: 104 of 2,522 (4.12%)
- Number of crew who reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of crew onboard: 17 of 961 (1.77%)
Predominant symptoms: diarrhea, vomiting
Causative agents: norovirus
Actions in response to the outbreak
In response to the outbreak, Holland America Line and the crew aboard the ship reported the following actions:
- Increased cleaning and disinfection procedures according to the ship’s outbreak prevention and response plan.
- Collected stool specimens from gastrointestinal illness cases for testing
- Isolated ill passengers and crew
VSP is remotely monitoring the situation, including reviewing the ship's outbreak response and sanitation procedures.
More information
Cases
Gastrointestinal illness is a commonly used term for acute gastroenteritis (AGE). Cruise ships report cases that meet our case definition for AGE. We define a reportable case of AGE as
- Three or more loose stools within a 24-hour period or what is more than normal for that person OR
- Vomiting along with one of the following symptoms: diarrhea, muscle ache, headache, abdominal cramp, or fever.
Case totals
Cases reported are totals for the entire voyage. It does not mean all people are sick at the same time, such as when they arrive or leave a port or ship.