The FBI’s Los Angeles field office has issued safety tips for Americans planning to travel abroad for spring break. The agency urges travelers to stay vigilant and take precautions to ensure their safety while overseas. This advisory comes as more than 30 people fell ill in a gastrointestinal outbreak on a Viking cruise ship. Among the 355 guests on the Viking Polaris ship, 28 passengers and four crew members reported symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea. The causative agent of the illness remains unknown, and the ship is expected to dock in New York on April 23 after a voyage through Canada.
In response to the outbreak, Viking implemented enhanced cleaning and disinfection protocols and isolated sick individuals onboard. This incident marks the thirteenth gastrointestinal illness outbreak this year that has met the CDC’s threshold for public notification. Most of these outbreaks have been linked to norovirus, a common cause of gastrointestinal issues. While cruise ships are often associated with such outbreaks, they only account for a small percentage of reported cases overall.
Dr. Dean Winslow, a professor at Stanford Medicine, highlighted that outbreaks typically occur in crowded settings where people eat and drink, such as cruises, universities, nursing homes, and hospitals. The CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program, responsible for inspecting cruise ships and responding to outbreaks, has faced challenges due to recent staffing cuts. Despite these obstacles, the program continues to operate with USPHS commissioned officers who were unaffected by the reductions.
