200 stricken on Scottish cruise flu ship

The company said today that three people remain in Raigmore Hospital in Scotland after falling ill on board the ship.

One person has been discharged, and one further patient admitted. In total there are still four people in hospital.

The spokesman added that In an "unrelated incident" yesterday, a 74-year-old male passenger died on board ship. The cause of death has not yet been identified and a post mortem will be carried out.

"A team of local GPs and nurses are working with the Marco Polo medical team to treat passengers with symptoms," a statement added.

“The management of Transocean Tours, the ship owners, Story Cruise Ltd and the NHS authorities are working closely together ensuring the maintenance of the standard Health Protection Agency protocols that are in place to minimize the effect of the virus and eradicate it.

Marco Polo began her current cruise in Tilbury on Saturday July 4 and yesterday called at Invergordon, where the ship’s medical staff called in port health officials because of the increased number of cases during the previous night.

“The ship had previously been on a cruise to Iceland. A very small number of people on board had suffered symptoms of gastro-enteritis during the cruise but this is unrelated to the current outbreak and Port authorities gave the ship a clean bill of health when it docked at Tilbury.”

There are a total of 769 passengers plus a crew complement of 340 persons aboard the vessel.

Members of the public who are concerned about relatives on board may call Transocean on 0845 430 0274. Outside office hours, call 07894 478 969.