A British cruise ship operating under the name Ambition was ordered to remain docked in Bordeaux on Wednesday following an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness among its passengers and crew. The vessel was in the midst of a 14-night voyage that originated from Belfast and Liverpool and was scheduled to visit ports in northern Spain and along France’s Atlantic coast before reaching the French port on Tuesday evening.
French regional health and administrative authorities issued the confinement order after the ship’s captain reported the outbreak. Approximately 50 passengers displayed symptoms consistent with acute digestive infection, according to a joint statement from the prefect of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region and the regional health agency. Those showing symptoms were isolated in their cabins and received treatment from the ship’s medical officer. A medical team was dispatched to conduct an investigation, and samples were collected for analysis at a Bordeaux hospital.
The operator, Ambassador Cruise Line, reported that 48 passengers and one crew member were exhibiting gastrointestinal symptoms as of late Wednesday morning. The company indicated that confirmed cases began appearing after passengers boarded in Liverpool earlier in May. All planned port activities in Bordeaux were canceled, and affected passengers were offered full refunds.
French authorities explicitly stated there was no connection between this outbreak and a separate hantavirus outbreak detected aboard another vessel, the MV Hondius, which had prompted a multinational health response last month. Ambassador Cruise Line also noted that a 92-year-old passenger died on Sunday, though the death was not attributed to gastroenteritis, with the cause pending coroner determination.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI