A cruise ship that recorded hundreds of cases of norovirus has returned to Southampton.
More than 200 passengers on a four-week cruise around the Caribbean fell ill aboard Cunard’s Queen Mary 2.
Bouts of omitting and diarrhoea were reported onboard the 13-deck luxury liner.
The ship docked in Southampton at 5.23am this morning after sailing from New York at the end of March.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) reported the outbreak after their Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) flagged it on March 18.
READ MORE: Almost 200 have fallen ill in cruise ship norovirus outbreak
Since the ship set sail from Southampton on March 8, 224 of the 2,538 passengers - almost nine per cent - and 17 crew members have fallen ill with norovirus.
In response to the outbreak, the CDC said Cunard and the crew had increased its cleaning and disinfection procedures, collected stool specimens for testing, and isolated those with the virus.
They also consulted with the VSP about sanitation cleaning procedures and reporting cases of norovirus.
The 2,695-passenger Queen Mary 2 has served as Cunard's flagship since April 2004.
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