Norovirus Sickens About 50 Passengers on Cruise Ship Docked in Bordeaux

French authorities placed a cruise ship under brief quarantine while it was docked in Bordeaux on Wednesday after around 50 passengers became infected with norovirus. The quarantine lasted only a short time before the vessel was cleared to resume normal operations. French authorities confirmed both the scale of the outbreak and the limited duration of the restriction.

Marc-Alain Widdowson, head of pandemic threats, communicable diseases and antimicrobial resistance activities in WHO Europe, said travelers can avoid buffet lines and keep their hands clean to avoid coming into contact with norovirus. He noted that the virus is highly contagious. @CBSNews reported that the ship was forced to quarantine while docked in Bordeaux on Wednesday.

Norovirus spreads easily in close quarters such as cruise ships, where passengers share dining areas and common spaces. Avoiding self-service buffet lines reduces the chance of touching contaminated surfaces or food, according to Widdowson.

Frequent hand hygiene remains one of the simplest and most effective barriers. The incident in Bordeaux follows a pattern seen on other vessels in recent years, though specific prior outbreaks were not detailed in French authorities' latest statement.

Officials moved quickly once the roughly 50 cases were identified, limiting the quarantine to the minimum time required to assess and contain the situation.

Widdowson's guidance underscores long-standing public health advice for cruise passengers and other group travelers. "Travelers can avoid buffet lines and keep their hands clean to avoid coming into contact with the highly contagious virus," he said, according to the reporting by @CBSNews.