BOSTON (WHDH) - Thirteen members of a student group were taken to the hospital after falling ill on their flight from Ecuador to Logan International Airport in Boston on Sunday.
Sixteen members of the group reported feeling ill while flying on an American Airlines plane returning from Ecuador, a spokesperson said.
EMS officials confirmed that 13 of those passengers were taken to a local hospital and diagnosed with a norovirus and Shigella, a bacterial infection. All have since been released.
One woman who sat next to one of the sick students says she thinks they were sick before boarding the flight.
“They were just vomiting,” the woman said. “They gave them bags and everything.”
The Center for Disease Control says that travelers recovering from a norovirus infection should should drink plenty of liquids to replace fluid lost from vomiting and diarrhea.
Those who develop fever, severe pain, feel very sick or whose diarrhea becomes bloody, should seek medical evaluation because their symptoms could be due to Shigella and may require antibiotic treatment, according to the CDC.
No other passengers were reported ill.
American Airlines says the plane will be cleaned and put back into service.
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