Over 200 passengers sickened with norovirus aboard luxury cruise ship

A norovirus outbreak aboard a luxury cruise ship has left over 224 passengers and 17 crew members ill, ABC News reported citing healthcare authorities. 

The ship, Cunard's Queen Mary 2, is scheduled to travel on its route for nearly a month, having departed on March 8 and set to return on April 6. It is traveling from Southampton, England, through New York and the Caribbean before returning to the United Kingdom.

The sweeping norovirus outbreak was reported to the US Centers for Disease Control on March 18.

In response to the outbreak, the ship and crew increased cleaning and disinfection procedures, collected stool specimens for testing and isolated people who had fallen ill, the CDC said, according to ABC News. 

Norovirus is a very contagious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea and is commonly referred to as the "stomach flu.”

224 of 2,538 passengers and 17 of 1,232 crew reported being ill.