Liner under quarantine as bug hits hundreds

A cruise liner has been placed under quarantine in Brazil after hundreds of passengers were hit with vomiting and diarrhoea.

At last 310 people suffered “some kind of food poisoning” on the Vision of the Seas, operated by Royal Caribbean International, a spokeswoman for the country’s health agency said.

The first case was detected yesterday, prompting the agency to order all 1,987 passengers and 765 crew to remain on the ship anchored at Buzios, near Rio de Janeiro.

She said it was unclear how many of those stricken were passengers or crew members, “but most were passengers.”

Royal Caribbean said that the ship was quarantined after some “came down with a gastrointestinal disorder.”

The agency spokeswoman said doctors were collecting blood and urine samples and inspecting food supplies to determine the cause of the food poisoning. Results will not be known for a few weeks she added.

The ship, left the port of Santos on Monday for a four-day tour, with scheduled stops in the coastal resorts of Buzios and Ilhabela.

She said most of those affected have started to improve and the ship was expected to be allowed to leave Buzios for Santos later in the day.