The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that a gastrointestinal (GI) illness outbreak sickened 12 people aboard the National Geographic Sea Bird during a late-May voyage in Alaska. The agency reported 9 of the ship’s 66 passengers and 3 of its 24 crew members fell ill during the sailing that ran from May 26 through May 31.
The outbreak was reported on May 28 and the main symptoms listed were vomiting and diarrhea. The cause of the outbreak has not yet been identified.
Lindblad Expeditions, which operates the vessel, responded by increasing cleaning and disinfection, isolating sick passengers and crew, and consulting with the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program on sanitation measures and illness reporting.
Federal health officials remotely monitored the outbreak response and reviewed the ship’s sanitation procedures, according to the CDC. The agency noted that passengers and crew met the case definition did not provide samples, which means the exact cause of the outbreak has not yet been identified.
The Alaska outbreak follows other recent GI illness outbreaks at sea. Last month, we wrote about a norovirus outbreak that sickened 160 people on the Caribbean Princess.
This is the fifth outbreak so far in 2026. Last year, the CDC reported 23 GI outbreaks, the majority of which were caused by norovirus.
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Photo credit – Ethan Ableman/Flickr via KTOO.