METHODS
The Outbreak
On July 16, 2004, the DEC notified the Alaska Section of Epidemiology of several cases of gastroenteritis among passengers on a cruise ship (78-passenger capacity) that was sailing in Prince William Sound. On July 19, a health official from the Nevada Office of Epidemiology notified staff at the Section of Epidemiology of the diagnosis of laboratory-confirmed V. parahaemolyticusgastroenteritis in a Nevada resident (Patient A). The illness had started on July 4, while the patient was a passenger on the ship. The patient reported having eaten raw oysters served on board the ship the day before the onset of the illness. In collaboration with various state and federal agencies, we began an investigation.