SEVEN passengers have now been confirmed as contracting potentially deadly strain of hepatitis while on board a Southampton-based cruise ship.

A health probe is now underway after passengers who had been aboard the Aurora were struck down with the illness.

Hundreds of the 1,800 holidaymakers who took part in a world cruise are to undergo tests to see if they also contracted the illness on board the P&O vessel.

The victims, men and women in their 50s and 60s turned yellow and suffered sickness and diarrhoea. They all tested positive for Hepatitis E.

Another woman aged 75 collapsed onboard and had to be referred to a hospital in New Zealand before returning to the ship. P&O said test results for her symptoms were inconclusive.

Other passengers were only made aware of the outbreak when they returned home and received letters from the Health Protection Agency which investigating the cause.

It sent out 1,100 letters inviting them to undergo blood tests and fill in a 10-page questionnaire. A sample of 600 have been selected for tests.

Hepatitis E is a form of severe liver inflammation. It is rife in developing countries and usually passed on through contaminated food or water supplies. Signs can take up to 60 days to appear. It is fatal in two per cent of cases.

The Aurora returned to Southampton on March 28 after a 12-week world cruise. It visited Madeira, Barbados, Venezuela, Bonaire, the Panama Canal and Acapulco before the first passenger fell in February.

The Aurora has been hit by a series of jinxes since it was launched by Princess Anne in 2000.

The traditional bottle of champagne failed to smash, which is considered by some a bad omen.

In 2003 about 600 passengers and crew caught the Norovirus. Then two years later the ship spent 11 days circling the Isle of Wight while an engine problem was reported and a world cruise was abandoned.

In a joint statement the HPA and P&O confirmed six cases of Hepatitis E amongst passengers.

"The illness was most likely contracted by eating or drinking contaminated food or water during the cruise," it said.

"Person to person transmission is very uncommon and unlikely.

"The HPA has been working closely with the Port Health Authority and P&O Cruises, to ensure all passengers receive appropriate information."

It added: "The ship has rigorous public health procedures and underwent a formal public health inspection recently in which it scored very highly."

The HPA urged passengers to seek medical advice if they were worried.