The P&O Iona, carrying 5,000 guests and 1,800 staff members is currently passing Belgium on a seven-day cruise across northern Europe. A report in Sky News has claimed that passengers have been \”dropping like flies\” aboard the ship. The company confirmed that some guests have reported symptoms of gastrointestinal illness but refused to provide update on the health of cruise staffers. It said the proportion of guests affected was lower than one per cent (500) of the total number. It is a highly contagious virus that causes acute gastroenteritis, commonly known as the stomach flu. It’s the leading cause of foodborne illness worldwide, responsible for millions of cases annually. The NHS England reported that almost 1,160 patients a day on average were in the hospital with the virus. The cases have risen to the highest level since records began in 2012, as per a BBC report. The CDC reported that at the start of the year, a norovirus outbreak was reported in the US by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
