Gastro outbreak strikes 200 passengers on cruise ship travelling around Australia
Nearly 200 passengers on one of the world's largest cruise ships are being treated for gastro as the liner docks in Hobart.
Ovation of the Seas, which carries more than 5800 passengers, has been sailing for two weeks and arrived in Tasmania on Tuesday after a trip to Singapore.
A spokesperson from Royal Caribbean International, which owns the ship, said 195 people have received over-the-counter medication to treat gastrointestinal illness.
The cruise ship will be "comprehensively sanitised and cleansed" once it arrives at its next port in Sydney and before new passengers board, said the Royal Caribbean International.
"Those affected by the short-lived illness were treated by our ship's doctors with over-the-counter medication, and we hope all our guests feel better quickly," the statement said.
"Meanwhile, we're taking steps like intensive sanitary procedures to minimise the risk of any further issues."
A video was posted on Facebook of industrial suit-clad crew members spraying the boat's hallways.
Fellow passengers commended the ship's staff for doing their best to contain the outbreak.
"This boat is sensational. I'm on here now and basically a sitting duck with people in both cabins either side not well with the gastro," one woman wrote on the video thread.
"They are doing everything perfectly to avoid further sickness. I could hear them last night doing this spraying outside my cabin."
Another passenger added: "They do their best!"
A third reported restaurants were closed off and finger food was no longer available.
The Tasmanian Health Service told the ABC the Ovation of the Seas notified local authorities about the outbreak and public health services were now working with the cruise liner.
"It is not unusual for gastroenteritis outbreaks to occur aboard cruise ships, just as it is within the normal population," a spokesman told the ABC.
"Cruise ships have their own medical teams, medical surveillance systems, outbreak control measures and are well-trained in treating passengers."
The ship is due to leave Tasmania on Tuesday afternoon and arrive in Sydney on Thursday.
