A 10-day Royal Caribbean cruise ship is expected to return two days ahead of scheduled after a "fast-moving gut bug," affected hundreds of passengers.
According to NBC News, Explorer of the Seas will return to New Jersey after more than 600 people became ill due to a gastrointestinal illness outbreak. The cruise line announced on Sunday that passengers and crew members reportedly suffered from diarrhea and vomiting.
Bernadette Burden, a spokeswoman with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stated that at least 577 passengers and 49 crew members have reported symptoms of a possible outbreak of highly contagious norovirus since the cruise left for the U.S. Virgin Islands on Tuesday.
"New reports of illness have decreased day-over-day, and many guests are again up and about. Nevertheless, the disruptions caused by the early wave of illness means that we were unable to deliver the vacation our guests were expecting," the cruise line said in a statement, according to CNN. "After consultation between our medical team and representatives of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we think the right thing to do is to bring our guests home early, and use the extra time to sanitize the ship even more thoroughly."
According to CNN, The Explorer of the Seas is carrying 3,050 passengers and 1,165 crew members. It reportedly docked in Puerto Rico after 300 people became ill during its voyage, the cruise had plans to make stops in in San Juan, St. Thomas and St. Maarten.
CNN reported that once at dock, health officials will reportedly take samples for analysis and perform "a thorough 'barrier' sanitization program" on the entire ship to make certain that any remaining traces of the illness are eliminated."
According to the CDC, norovirus is often spread by infected people or contaminated food or water. Most commonly caused by acute gastroenteritis in the U.S., the outbreak often results in about "21 million illnesses, between 56,000 and 71,000 hospitalizations and as many as 800 deaths," the CDC stated.
Last year during a trip on the Queen Mary 2 between Dec. 22, 2012 to Jan. 3, 2013, at least 204 passengers and 16 crew members developed norovirus.
