A cruise ship docked in the French city of Bordeaux, named “Ambition” belonging to Ambassador Cruise Line, had a tragic incident on Wednesday (May 13th). A 90-year-old passenger reportedly passed away from a suspected highly contagious Norovirus. Following this, more than 1,700 passengers and crew on board were immediately placed under isolation.
Most of the 1,233 passengers on the ship were from the UK or Ireland, as the vessel arrived in Bordeaux on Tuesday after visiting ports in Belfast, Liverpool, and Brest. The earliest recorded symptoms among passengers date back to May 11th. On Wednesday, health officials confirmed the death of the elderly passenger due to Norovirus and noted that approximately 50 others were showing symptoms of the virus.
The local government of Gironde province stated in a release today that up to 50 passengers exhibited symptoms consistent with acute gastroenteritis. These passengers received prompt medical attention from the ship’s medical team and were isolated in their cabins. A medical team supervised by the Maritime Medical Coordination Service and under the jurisdiction of the Maritime Prefect has been dispatched to the ship to assess the health conditions, while the infectious disease department of Bordeaux University Hospital is collecting samples for analysis.
Officials clarified that this incident is unrelated to the outbreak of Hantavirus on another cruise ship, MV Hondius, ensuring the public’s health safety concerns are being addressed differently.
Norovirus is highly contagious and a primary cause of non-bacterial acute gastroenteritis, commonly known as “stomach flu,” affecting people of all age groups. Even a small number of virus particles (about 10-100) can lead to severe symptoms, including vomiting and diarrhea, often spreading rapidly in crowded settings like schools, hospitals, and cruise ships.
As for the “Ambition,” it departed from the Shetland Islands on May 6th and made stops in Belfast, Liverpool, and Brest before arriving in Bordeaux. The ship was scheduled to continue its journey to Spain from Bordeaux, but the current situation raises uncertainty about how long the passengers and crew will remain in France.
The authorities are closely monitoring the situation, ensuring necessary measures are taken to prevent further spread of the virus among the passengers and crew.