Over 1,700 passengers and crew aboard the British cruise ship Ambition were told to stay on board in Bordeaux, France, after French authorities said some people developed gastrointestinal illness. Étienne Guyot, prefect of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region and Gironde department, ordered the restrictions on disembarkation and on the ship’s interactions with port officials, acting on a recommendation from the regional health agency, the Agence Régionale de Santé Nouvelle-Aquitaine, according to a joint statement.
The Ambition was midway through a 14-night cruise from Belfast and Liverpool that was due to include ports in northern Spain and along France’s Atlantic coast. The ship reached Bordeaux on Tuesday evening, and the operator, Ambassador Cruise Line, said the captain alerted French authorities the same day. The joint statement said up to 50 passengers had symptoms consistent with an acute digestive infection, and those affected were treated by the ship’s doctor and isolated in their cabins.
A medical team was dispatched to the vessel, and samples were sent for analysis at a Bordeaux hospital. An update was expected later on Wednesday once the results from the testing were available, French officials said.
Officials also sought to address fears raised by a separate incident involving another cruise ship that recently triggered concern among European health authorities. In the joint statement, officials said, “There is no reason to establish a link between this outbreak aboard a cruise ship from Belfast and Liverpool and the hantavirus cases detected aboard the MV Hondius,” language that referenced hantavirus cases reported on the Hondius last month.
The Hondius outbreak prompted a multicountry response and included hospitalizations of passengers in Britain, France, Spain and the United States. Three passengers died and there have been nine confirmed cases, with another two suspected, officials said, while noting that an update was expected after laboratory analysis tied to the Ambition.
Earlier Wednesday, Ambassador Cruise Line said a 92-year-old male passenger died on Sunday, adding that the passenger had not reported symptoms consistent with the illness and that the cause of death had not yet been established by a coroner. The company said 48 passengers and one crew member were displaying gastrointestinal symptoms as of late Wednesday morning.
Ambassador said its internal data showed cases rose after passengers boarded in Liverpool on May 9. It also said all shore excursions at Bordeaux were canceled and affected passengers were offered full refunds. The company described Ambition as a British operator targeting passengers over 50, and said it was founded in 2021.
In the broader context of cruise-ship disease surveillance, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recorded 23 gastrointestinal outbreaks on cruise ships last year, the AP report said. The CDC said most of those outbreaks were caused by norovirus, including a new strain.
If you want, I can also add a separate “What is norovirus?” explainer paragraph using only the same cluster sources.