Two British passengers on the Fred Olsen
Cruise Lines ship, the Black Watch, have tested positive for
Legionnaires' disease, the line confirmed Tuesday.
Fred Olsen said
Monday that seven passengers had been hospitalized in Stockholm,
Sweden, on July 27 with pneumonia-like symptoms. The British cruise
line said that two of those passengers have since tested positive
for legionella bacteria, and that both patients are responding well
to treatment.
Four of the other
passengers have now returned to the U.K., the line said, while one
remains in Stockholm with a non-related illness.
The Black Watch
arrived in Dover, England, Monday evening, Fred Olsen said, two
days ahead of schedule.
The line added
that investigations are currently underway to determine where the
infection may have been contracted as the vessel had previously
visited five ports in northern Europe before arriving in
Stockholm.
Britain's
Guardian newspaper reported that some passengers disembarking the
ship suspected the infection had been picked up at a fountain in
St. Petersburg, Russia, one of the stops on the cruise.
To contact the reporter who wrote this article, send e-mail
to Johanna Jainchill at [email protected].