French authorities have imposed a quarantine on the British cruise ship Ambition anchored in the port of Bordeaux. This happened after a 92-year-old passenger died on board and dozens of other people started having stomach problems. More than 1,700 people on board – 1,233 passengers and 514 crew members – have been temporarily banned from ashore while an investigation into the cause of the contagion is underway. TASR informs about it based on reports from BBC television and The Guardian newspaper.
- French authorities have quarantined the Ambition ship in Bordeaux due to the contagion.
- There are more than 1,700 people on board, all of them were temporarily forbidden to go ashore.
- Stomach problems with vomiting and diarrhea broke out after a stopover in Liverpool.
- A 92-year-old Briton died, the cause of death is to be clarified by the upcoming forensic autopsy.
- Doctors are testing samples for norovirus and food poisoning, they have tightened hygiene measures.
The detained vessel is operated by the British company Ambassador Cruise Line. The French ship arrived in Bordeaux in the southwest on Tuesday, May 12, as part of a 14-day cruise of western France and Spain, which it set off on May 6 from the Shetland Islands. Most of the passengers are citizens of Great Britain and Ireland, the crew is mostly Indian nationals.
The first cases of stomach problems accompanied by intense vomiting and diarrhea appeared on board on May 11, when the ship was anchored in the port of the Breton city of Brest. The number of sick people began to grow rapidly, especially after the previous boarding of passengers in Liverpool, where she arrived on May 9. She stopped in Belfast the day before. As of May 13, the medical team registered 48 cases of acute infectious disease in passengers and one case in a crew member.
The seriousness of the situation was amplified by the death of a 92-year-old British passenger. However, according to a statement from Ambassador Cruise Line the deceased man did not show any symptoms associated with a stomach virus and the exact cause of death will be determined only by a forensic autopsy.
Étienne Guyot, Prefect of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, due to the high contagiousness of the disease, he ordered a temporary ban on landing and limiting contacts with the port. Samples taken from sick patients are analyzed at the University Hospital of Bordeaux.
Although initial rapid tests did not confirm the presence of the highly contagious norovirus, the results of more detailed laboratory tests are awaited. Possible poisoning by contaminated food is also not ruled out. At the same time, doctors and the prefecture ruled out any connection with the recent outbreak of the dangerous hantavirus recorded on board the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius. which was briefly anchored near the Spanish island of Tenerife.
Ambassador Cruise Line said that she immediately introduced stricter hygiene and sanitation measures on the ship. Sick passengers are isolated in their cabins, public spaces are continuously disinfected and service was introduced in restaurant establishments with the aim of minimizing personal contact. The ship will be able to continue its journey to Spain as soon as the French authorities receive the test results and confirm that there is no risk to the passengers.
