Nearly 100 passengers fell ill aboard the cruise ship Celebrity Infinity, which docked in San Diego Monday to undergo disinfection, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
The 95 sick passengers, out of 2,117 on board, suffered from vomiting and diarrhea, according to the CDC. Five crew members also fell ill.
Cynthia Martinez of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., the corporate owner of Celebrity Cruises, put the number of those sickened at 99 passengers and one crew member.
She said the patients responded well to over-the-counter medication provided aboard the ship, which left San Diego March 29 for a cruise to the Mexican Riviera.
Celebrity was sending corporate management, and hotel and housekeeping teams, to assist with an infection control response plan, and was consulting with the agency on plans for "comprehensive sanitation procedures," according to the CDC.
The CDC sent a Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer and an epidemiologist to San Diego to conduct evaluate the outbreak and response activities. Specimens are being collected and will be tested by CDC to determine what caused the suspected norovirus outbreak.
"At Celebrity Cruises we have high health standards for all our guests and crew," Martinez said in a statement. "During the sailing, we took a number of steps to prevent the transmission of the illness, including implementing enhanced cleaning procedures and protocols, and using special cleaning products and disinfectants that are proven to kill norovirus to clean throughout the ship."
She said they began "an extensive and thorough sanitizing onboard the ship and within the cruise terminal, to help prevent any illness from affecting the subsequent sailing."
Guests for the next cruise will be notified of the illnesses and asked if they have experienced any gastrointestinal symptoms within the last three days, Martinez said. If anyone is uncomfortable with taking the next cruise, the company will help them reschedule, she said.
According to the online publication Maritime Executive, outbreaks of gastrointestinal sickness occurred on Celebrity Infinity in 2013 and 2006.
This is the fourth outbreak of sickness this year on cruise ships calling at the U.S., according to the magazine. The other outbreaks occurred on Norwegian Pearl, Celebrity Equinox and Grandeur of the Seas.
