"Testing confirmed that the outbreak on the Ambition, a cruise ship anchored in the port of Bordeaux, in western France, was "a gastro-intestinal infection of viral origin," the local government and regional health agency said in a statement. They said there were no severe cases, and that asymptomatic individuals were now free to disembark, but that those infected were required to remain in isolation on board."
"Earlier on Wednesday, authorities had ordered a lockdown for the over 1,700 passengers and crew on the vessel, but insisted there was no connection with the hantavirus outbreak suspected of killing three people on the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius cruise ship. They said the lockdown order had been issued as an "abundance of caution" and to "avoid psychosis," given international concern over the hantavirus outbreak on the Hondius."
"News that a 92-year-old British passenger had died on the ship as dozens of other passengers suffered upset stomachs initially caused concern. But health authorities said the man had suffered a heart attack and that his death appeared unrelated to the illness. "At this stage, no link has been established with the gastroenteritis episode," they said."
"Port authorities said his body remained on board, "in accordance with international conventions". Authorities said that since Monday, 80 people on the ship had suffered from "symptoms consistent with an acute digestive infection." The Ambition, which is operated by the UK-based Ambassador Cruise Line, arrived in Bordeaux on Tuesday with 1,233 passengers, mostly from Britain and Ireland, and 514 crew."
French authorities lifted a lockdown for asymptomatic passengers on a British cruise ship anchored in Bordeaux after testing confirmed a viral gastrointestinal infection. More than 1,700 passengers and crew had been confined earlier due to an outbreak of acute digestive symptoms following the death of a 92-year-old passenger. Health authorities stated the death resulted from a heart attack and showed no established connection to the gastrointestinal illness. They reported no severe cases and allowed asymptomatic individuals to disembark, while requiring infected passengers to remain in isolation on board. Port authorities kept the body on the ship in line with international conventions. The lockdown was issued as a precaution to avoid panic amid international concern about a separate hantavirus outbreak on another cruise ship.
#cruise-ship-outbreak #viral-gastroenteritis #public-health-lockdown #bordeaux-port #hantavirus-concern
Read at The Local France
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