Rotterdam December 2024

Outbreak details

Cruise line: Holland America Line

Cruise ship: Rotterdam

Voyage dates: December 8–December 20, 2024

Voyage number: RN241208

Date reported to VSP: December 18, 2024

Number of passengers who reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of passengers onboard: 83 of 2,192 (3.79%)

Number of crew who reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of crew onboard: 12 of 953 (1.26%)

Predominant symptoms: diarrhea and vomiting

Causative agent: 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 their outbreak prevention and response plan
• Collected stool specimens from gastrointestinal illness cases for testing
• Isolated ill passengers and crew
• Consulted with VSP about sanitation cleaning procedures and reporting ill cases

VSP is remotely monitoring the situation, including review of the ship's outbreak response and sanitation procedures.

Tips for healthy cruising

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More information

Tracking GI illnesses

Gastrointestinal illness is a commonly used term for acute gastroenteritis (AGE). Reporting gastrointestinal illness is important. When passengers and crew tell the medical center onboard about their symptoms, it helps GI outbreaks get detected quickly. This allows steps to be taken to limit the spread of illness. Medical staff evaluate symptoms to see if they meet our case definition for AGE:

• 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

Cruise ships are required to report these cases to us.

Note: 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.