At a glance
Learn about the outbreak of gastrointestinal illness on Princess Cruises ship Sapphire Princess in April 2024, including outbreak details and actions taken in response.
Outbreak details
Cruise Line: Princess Cruises
Cruise Ship: Sapphire Princess
Voyage Dates: April 5–May 7, 2024
Voyage number: H408
Final case counts:
- Number of passengers who reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of passengers onboard: 123 of 2,532 (4.86%)
- Number of crew who reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of crew onboard: 30 of 1,066 (2.81%)
Predominant symptoms: diarrhea and vomiting
Causative agent: norovirus
Actions in response to the outbreak
In response to the outbreak, Princess Cruises and the crew aboard the ship reported the following actions:
- Collected stool specimens from gastrointestinal illness cases for testing.
- Isolated ill passengers and crew.
- Increased cleaning and disinfection procedures according to the ship’s outbreak prevention and response plan.
VSP remotely monitored the situation, including review of 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.