Norovirus Sickens 172 Cruise Ship Passengers

A cruise ship is a terrible place to come down with a stomach bug, especially when everyone else on the boat is suffering from the same illness, which happened this month when a Carnival cruise ship was hit with an outbreak of norovirus.

According to Scientific American, 158 passengers and 14 crew members came down with norovirus on the Crown Princess cruise ship. The first people started falling ill during the first week of the ship's tour from Los Angeles, which continued for another month and made stops in Hawaii and Tahiti.

Norovirus is a highly unpleasant but not usually life-threatening gastrointestinal illness that causes vomiting and diarrhea. Scientific American reports that it has been popping up on cruise ships lately, which is likely a side effect of buffet-style dining, "lackluster" hand-washing, and a lot of people sharing a small, confined space.

The Crown Princess docked back in Los Angeles yesterday and released its queasy passengers back into the world. Now the company says the boat was deep-cleaned before embarking Sunday night for the Mexican Riviera.