(NEXSTAR) – Passengers aboard a United Airlines flight from Vancouver to Houston reported feeling ill upon arrival Friday afternoon, prompting the airline to remove the plane from service for a “deep cleaning,” confirmed a United spokesperson.
A total of 25 passengers became ill, Houston Fire Department spokeswoman Martee Black told Nexstar. Three were treated at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport site, according to the Houston Airport System; the rest chose to continue the journey or return home.
“CDC Houston Port Health Station public health officials worked with EMS to evaluate sick passengers on board,” a CDC spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement obtained by Nexstar.
Most of the sick passengers had only “mild gastrointestinal symptoms,” the CDC added, and none had a fever.
“No passengers met CDC criteria for additional public health monitoring,” the CDC wrote. “The passengers on the flight continued with their travel plans.”
Black of the Houston Fire Department said the sick passengers had previously been on a cruise together. (About 75 of the United passengers in total were on the same cruise, HFD said.) United Airlines, in its statement, also indicated that at least “several” of the sick passengers “were on the same cruise” before boarding. the flight in Vancouver.
Neither HFD nor United said which cruise the passengers may have taken.
“United Airlines is actively coordinating with health authorities to resolve the situation,” an airline spokesperson said. “As a precautionary measure, the aircraft will be removed from service and will undergo deep cleaning before returning to service. Ensuring the health and safety of our passengers and crew continues to be our top priority.”
Meanwhile, cases of norovirus on cruise ships have been reported on several cruise lines in recent months, making hundreds of passengers sick, according to the CDC.
Norovirus outbreaks are said to be the “most frequent” cause of stomach problems on cruise ships, the CDC notes, although cruises are a relatively rare setting for such outbreaks, accounting for only about 1% in the U.S., the CDC says. agency. (They are reported most often in healthcare facilities, restaurants and day care centers.) Still, such outbreaks can be “especially difficult to control” on cruise ships because passengers share recreational and dining spaces, the CDC says.
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