Warning to Brits in Egypt’s Hurghada resort amid massive E.coli outbreak one year to the day after Brit couple died in Thomas Cook holiday
BRIT holidaymakers staying at the coastal resort of Hurghada are being warned after an outbreak of E.coli in the same resort where a couple died in suspicious circumstances.
Up to 25 Brits — including children — have been struck down with the lethal bacteria after visiting the Egyptian resort and there are fears this number will rise.
The youngest victim is a baby of less than one year old and the oldest 67.
The warning comes a year to the day that British couple John Copper, 69, and his 63-year-old wife Susan mysteriously died at the resort.
Public Health England is now advising anyone who has visited the resort or is feeling sick in resort to seek medical attention.
Nick Harris Head of Travel at Simpson Millar Solicitors, who has represented affected holidaymakers, said the resort was a “hotspot for illness” and he wasn't surprised by the ongoing outbreak.
He said: "This is very concerning and people are quite rightly worried. If you visit this resort you could be putting your life in someone else's hands.
“This area is a repeat offender with very poor hygiene practices and obviously they haven't cleaned up their act.
“We have dealt with lots of cases with people left seriously ill and with life long health complications.
“The standards over there are much more lax than in the UK.
“When you eat over there you are taking part in Russian roulette, as you have to rely on other people to wash their hands to stop you getting ill.
“Tour companies need to do much more to ensure their customers safety."
MYSTERY DEATHS AT EGYPTIAN RESORTS
The sickness bug E.coli is linked to poor hygiene practices and is spread by infected faeces contaminating water or food.
Symptoms include diarrhoea and severe abdominal pain and cramps, vomiting and nausea as well as passing blood.
It comes after a number of mysterious sudden deaths in Eygptian resorts including Hurghada.
Exactly one year ago, John and Susan Cooper died within four hours of each other while on a £6,500 five-star Thomas Cook break in the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel.
Food and hygiene Tests carried out at the time by independent health inspectors at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic hotel later revealed "high levels” of E.coli.
Shortly after Thomas Cook evacuated 301 guests from the hotel before admitting that “something went wrong”.
The company no longer sells any holidays to the hotel.
Although post-mortem tests proved inconclusive, E.coli was also named as a possible cause of the Coopers' sudden death.
But a pre-inquest hearing heard that British authorities still have not received all the necessary medical and other reports from the Egyptian authorities to definitively establish the cause of death.
Speaking to The Sun in May, the couple’s daughter Kelly Ormerod, 40, of Burnley, Lancs, has vowed to leave “no stone unturned” as she desperately tries to uncover what killed her parents.
She said: “If the Egyptian authorities have any compassion or humanity they should help the coroner find out what happened."
An inquest into their deaths is due to take place later.
As reported yesterday a family-of-four, from Wimborne, Dorset, say they fell seriously ill with food poisoning at the same Egyptian hotel where the Coopers died.
When you eat over there you are taking part in Russian roulette, as you have to rely on other people to wash their hands to stop you getting ill
Nick Harris Head of Travel at Simpson Millar Solicitors
And in haunting similarities to the Coopers’ death, previously fit and healthy Alison Sonnex, 54, from Ramsgate, Kent, died after falling sick on the last night of her stay at the five-star Royal Tulip Hotel in Marsa Alam in April 2018.
But an inquest in July failed to find the exact cause of her illness could not be identified.
What can you do to avoid E.coli at the resort?
Escherichia coli, or by its shortened name E.coli, is a type of bacteria common in human and animal intestines.
While most types of E.coli are harmless, some can cause serious food poisoning and infection that can make you very ill indeed.
So it is really important that you avoid catching or spreading this horrendous bug — and Deputy Director of the National Infection Service at Public Health England, Dr Nick Phin briefly explains how.
He said: “There are simple precautions that travellers can take.
“These include ensuring meat is cooked thoroughly, not drinking tap water or ice made from tap water and trying to avoid swallowing water when swimming.
“Anyone suffering from diarrhea and vomiting should ensure they keep well hydrated and seek medical advice if their symptoms don’t improve within 48 hours.
“They should also avoid preparing or serving food while they have symptoms and thoroughly wash their hands after using the toilet to stop the bug being passed to others.
"Individuals with symptoms after returning from holiday with symptoms should seek medical advice."
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Public Health England said so far this year, four people had been hospitalised out of 22 English victims. It did not provide data for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
This includes one person who has developed a rare condition called haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) which can cause kidney failure and in rare instances be fatal.
A 19-year-old, spent eleven days in intensive care back in the UK last year after developing suspected HUS during a family trip to the same region.
Other Brit victims who have contracted E.coli have been diagnosed after returning to Scotland according to health agencies in the country.
This is the third year in a row that the resort has seen an outbreak of E.coli.
In 2018, five of 24 Brits who visited the region were hospitalised while a further 11 caught the bug the year before.
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