HUNDREDS of passengers on a Southampton based cruise liner have been struck by a highly contagious stomach virus.

Around 430 people on board P&O's flagship Aurora have been laid low by the noro virus, which causes severe vomiting and diarrhoea.

They were today expected to be quarantined on the ship when the 76,152-ton liner stops at its next port of call in Piraeus, near Athens.

Passengers suffering with the bug were being fed in their cabins to prevent it spreading. The ship's buffet, thought to be the highest risk area for transmitting the infection - was closed.

Aurora left Southampton for a 17-day Adriatic voyage on Monday, October 20 and has so far stopped at Majorca, Sicily, Venice and Dubrovnik in Croatia.

There are around 1,900 passengers and 800 crew members in total on board the cruise, which cost from £1,875.

It returns to Southampton next Thursday after its final stop in Gibraltar four days earlier.

Experts said outbreaks of the bug were common in semi-closed environments such as hospitals, schools and cruise ships.

A spokesman for P&O said: "It lasts only 24 hours so some of those affected will already be better.

"However we think people remain contagious for 24 hours after the last symptom, so as tackling illness on board is our utmost priority, we have asked those who are ill to work with us by staying in their cabins until they are no longer infectious."

She said it was understood the virus was brought on board by a passenger, and had then spread between individuals.

It was not thought there was any problem with sanitation on the ship, which was built in 2000.

The spokesman added that any compensation claims would be looked at on a case-by-case basis.

Cruise passengers were hit by a stomach bug on board P&O's Oceana last month.

Around 95 out of the 2,000 passengers during the ten-night cruise around Spain, Portugal and the Canary Islands in September were affected.