MIAMI (AFX) - More than 380 passengers and crew aboard a cruise ship were sickened by a virus during a seven-day Caribbean cruise, cruise officials said Sunday.
The outbreak struck Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.'s Freedom of the Seas, which returned as scheduled to the Port of Miami on Sunday, according to a statement from the Miami-based company.
The ill passengers received over-the-counter medication, and crew members sanitized frequently touched surfaces such as railings, door handles and elevator buttons after the short-lived outbreak began, officials said.
A guest previously exposed to norovirus likely brought it on board Nov. 26, according to the cruise line.
Noroviruses, characterized by stomach flu-like symptoms, affect about 23 million Americans annually, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. An outbreak struck more than 700 passengers and crew members aboard a trans-Atlantic cruise last month on the Carnival Cruise Lines' Liberty.
The Freedom of the Seas, which was christened in May, can carry more than 4,000 people aboard its 15 passenger decks. Standing upright on its bow, it would be taller than the Eiffel Tower.
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