Norovirus strikes 200 cruise passengers on Dawn Princess in New Zealand

Nearly 200 passengers out of 1500 aboard the cruise ship Dawn Princess have reported gastrointestinal symptoms confirmed as norovirus and had to be confined to their cabins – the ship is currently on a 13-day cruise to New Zealand destinations and return to Melbourne.
It is suspected to be an attack of the norovirus bug.
The outbreak is believed because of people who did not follow proper hygiene and did not wash their hands enough after going to the toilet.
The ship belongs to the Princess Cruises and it has said that its sanitation measures included closing all self-service in food areas and encouraging passengers to use their own cabin bathrooms facilities.
It seems there was a similar incident of "pukefest" on the 261m long ship two years ago – at that time, 114 passengers and 11 crew had fallen ill.
Some facts about norovirus – it results in stomach or intestinal infection, leading to vomiting and diarrhea. The bug can spread when people consumed contaminated food or drinks, or touched infected surfaces or objects and then put their fingers in their mouth.