00:00More than 1,700 people have been confined aboard a cruise ship on Wednesday in the southwestern French city of
00:07Bordeaux
00:07after a passenger died and dozens more developed symptoms of a suspected norovirus outbreak.
00:14The affected patients, according to the ship's captain, have received medical attention by the onboard ship doctor
00:20and are being isolated in their cabins.
00:23The cruise ship, named the Ambition, part of the Ambassador Cruise Line Company, is carrying mainly British and Irish passengers.
00:31It departed from the Shetland Islands north of Scotland on the 6th of May
00:35before making stops in Belfast in Northern Ireland and Liverpool in England prior to its arrival in Bordeaux.
00:42The ship was midway through a 14-night cruise when the infections were reported.
00:47France says it dispatched a team to carry out a health situation assessment on the vessel
00:52where medical professionals are collecting samples to identify the illness.
00:56Authorities have decided to prevent the disembarkation of passengers and crews
01:00until the collected samples are tested by laboratories.
01:03Health officials say the infections could also be severe cases of food poisoning
01:08but have ruled out any connection to the Hantavirus, which hit another cruise ship just weeks ago
01:13and has put European health authorities on alert.
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