{"id":254,"date":"2026-05-14T04:07:45","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T04:07:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=254"},"modified":"2026-05-14T04:07:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T04:07:45","slug":"why-do-germs-and-diseases-spread-on-cruises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=254","title":{"rendered":"Why do germs and diseases spread on cruises?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

(NEXSTAR) \u2014 As global health officials continue to monitor the hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship, French authorities have ordered 1,700 passengers on the British cruise ship Ambition to quarantine due to norovirus. Last week, yet another cruise ship, a Caribbean Princess with 3,100 passengers on board, reported a norovirus outbreak.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more WATCH: Rare, endangered jaguar spotted near Arizona-Mexico border<\/a><\/p>\n

The apparent recent surge in sicknesses aboard cruise liners prompts the question: Are cruises breeding grounds for disease?<\/p>\n

Cruises are semi-enclosed environments, explains the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where it\u2019s easy for highly contagious diseases to spread. People from all over the world, some of whom may have brought a virus on board, are constantly mixing and interacting in small, poorly ventilated spaces. They\u2019re also spending a long period of time in the same enclosed area, days or weeks at a time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf people took week-long airplane rides, I imagine we\u2019d be talking about the same thing,\u201d Dr. Emily Abdoler, an infectious diseases specialist and professor at the University of Michigan Medical School, tells USA Today.<\/p>\n

\u201cAge also matters,\u201d writes Vikram Niranjan, assistant professor of public health at the University of Limerick School of Medicine, in an article for The Conversation. \u201cCruise holidays are especially popular with older adults, and many passengers have long-term health conditions that make infections more serious.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Norovirus, sometimes called the winter vomiting bug thanks to its gastrointestinal side-effects, is highly contagious. It\u2019s the most common cause of stomach bugs on cruise ships, the CDC says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Harrison Ford\u2019s rousing commencement speech goes viral: \u2018The world my generation left you is a real mess\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

However, cruise ships are a relatively rare setting for norovirus outbreaks, accounting for about 1% of the reported outbreaks in the U.S., the agency says. Norovirus cases are more commonly tracked back to long-term health facilities, hospitals, restaurants, schools and daycares.\u00a0<\/p>\n

COVID-19 is another highly contagious virus, and it spread quickly on the Diamond Princess ship in early 2020. Passengers had to quarantine on board as hundreds of passengers and crew members tested positive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hantavirus outbreaks, on the other hand, are rare \u2013 on cruises or even on land, says Niranjan. The virus isn\u2019t known for spreading person-to-person. Typically, it\u2019s spread by rodents and their droppings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, the Andes strain of hantavirus appears to be able to spread between people in very close contact. The outbreak on the MV Hondius is still under investigation, but the current hypothesis, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, is the virus was brought on board by a passenger who had been in Argentina or Chile. The Andes strain is endemic in those parts of South America. Once on board, the passenger may have spread it to fellow travelers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Caterpillar adding 600 jobs at Lee County plant near Sanford to build compact track loaders<\/a><\/p>\n

Nexstar\u2019s Michael Bartiromo contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The apparent recent surge in sicknesses aboard cruise liners prompts the question: Are cruises breeding grounds for disease?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":253,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy do germs and diseases spread on cruises? - Raleigh Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=254\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why do germs and diseases spread on cruises? - Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The apparent recent surge in sicknesses aboard cruise liners prompts the question: Are cruises breeding grounds for disease?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=254\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-14T04:07:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/e42a077fd305a8b0c99a5d59a37c3f51.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"681\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=254#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=254\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\"},\"headline\":\"Why do germs and diseases spread on cruises?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-14T04:07:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=254\"},\"wordCount\":497,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=254#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/e42a077fd305a8b0c99a5d59a37c3f51.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=254#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=254\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=254\",\"name\":\"Why do germs and diseases spread on cruises? - Raleigh Moving News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=254#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=254#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/e42a077fd305a8b0c99a5d59a37c3f51.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-14T04:07:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=254#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=254\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=254#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/e42a077fd305a8b0c99a5d59a37c3f51.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/e42a077fd305a8b0c99a5d59a37c3f51.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":681},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=254#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why do germs and diseases spread on cruises?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Raleigh Moving News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why do germs and diseases spread on cruises? - Raleigh Moving News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=254","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why do germs and diseases spread on cruises? - Raleigh Moving News","og_description":"The apparent recent surge in sicknesses aboard cruise liners prompts the question: Are cruises breeding grounds for disease?","og_url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=254","og_site_name":"Raleigh Moving News","article_published_time":"2026-05-14T04:07:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":681,"url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/e42a077fd305a8b0c99a5d59a37c3f51.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=254#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=254"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60"},"headline":"Why do germs and diseases spread on cruises?","datePublished":"2026-05-14T04:07:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=254"},"wordCount":497,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=254#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/e42a077fd305a8b0c99a5d59a37c3f51.webp","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=254#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=254","url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=254","name":"Why do germs and diseases spread on cruises? - Raleigh Moving News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=254#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=254#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/e42a077fd305a8b0c99a5d59a37c3f51.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-14T04:07:45+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=254#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=254"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=254#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/e42a077fd305a8b0c99a5d59a37c3f51.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/e42a077fd305a8b0c99a5d59a37c3f51.webp","width":1024,"height":681},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=254#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why do germs and diseases spread on cruises?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/","name":"Raleigh Moving News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com"],"url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=254"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}