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 12 October 2008 00:25 BST

'Sick ship' to stay in port

Wednesday, 05 Jul 2006 16:13
'Sick ship' to stay in port
A cruise liner that has once again seen a number of its passengers fall ill with a sickness bug will remain docked in Scotland for the next two days.

The Fred Olsen cruise liner, the Black Prince, has returned to port in Leith from a trip to Greenland after 114 passengers were struck down by the norotype virus, which causes sickness and diarrhoea.

It is the second time in a matter of weeks that the liner has been host to the illness, after 136 cases were diagnosed during a trip around the Norwegian ports three weeks ago.

The cruise company has now decided to hold the ship in port for the next two days while it carries out an "extensive sanitisation" process, including "replacing the public area carpeting, thorough steam cleaning and anti-viral treatments".

Passengers set to board the ship for a cruise today will now have a "revised departure and itinerary" issued to them, a company spokeswoman added.

"Outbreaks of norovirus are extremely common, second only to the common cold," the spokeswoman added.

"It is highly contagious and is easily transmitted in areas of close proximity such as hotels, hospitals and passenger ships. Fred Olsen staff work tirelessly to contain the spread of this virus, and require the cooperation of all persons on board in the matter of personal hygiene."

As the ship docked this morning it was greeted by local council officials, while the ill passengers were disembarked and taken away for treatment.

"We will be recommending an action plan aimed at eradicating any sources that may be associated with this type of virus," Gordon Greenhill, head of community safety for Edinburgh city council, said.

"We will of course work in close collaboration with our colleagues at NHS Lothian. We will be in a position to provide more information once we have inspected the ship."

The Black Prince had been on a 13-night cruise around Iceland and Greenland and had 393 passengers and 210 crewmembers on board.End of story


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