139 people sickened with gastrointestinal illness on cruise ship

A total of 139 people aboard a cruise ship in the U.S. have fallen sick with gastrointestinal illness.

This is according to a report from the U.S. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as reported on Thursday.

The Queen Victoria cruise ship from Cunard Cruise Line departed from Florida on Jan. 22 and is set to arrive in Hawaii on Feb. 12.

Out of the ship’s 1,824 passengers, 123 reported sick during the voyage, meanwhile, 16 among the 967 crew members have also fallen ill.

Their symptoms included diarrhea and vomiting, according to the CDC, while the cause of the illness remained unknown.

In response to the outbreak, Cunard Cruise Line and the crew aboard the ship increased cleaning and disinfection procedures with the sick passengers and crew properly isolated.

The CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Programme was remotely monitoring the situation, including reviewing the ship’s outbreak response and sanitation procedures, according to the agency.