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Hundreds of travellers are taking legal action against resorts after contracting stomach bugs in Cape Verde.

It can be difficult to discern the cause when you fall ill abroad. Was it the street food at dinner or the water at lunch? Did you forget to wash your hands before a meal or did someone sneeze beside you on a bus?

Almost 1000 particular holidaymakers knew one thing for sure; their gastrointestinal infections occurred while holidaying in Cape Verde.

In the past three years, 926 British holidaymakers have reported contracting infections such as Shigella and Salmonella while staying at luxury hotel resorts on the West African archipelago, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Some travellers’ symptoms were so severe they remained in their hotel rooms for days and contacted lawyers about the illnesses.

Cordelia Plummer and Ian Waller, a couple from Birmingham and Kingston-Upon-Hull, are one group who sought legal help following a two-week holiday in July.

The couple fell seriously ill during their stay, despite paying nearly £3000 ($6300) for an all-inclusive holiday at a five-star hotel on Sal, one of Cape Verde’s islands.

Specialist international serious injury lawyer Jatinder Paul, who is representing the couple, said a worrying number of people were reporting severe illnesses during visits to the destination.

“The sheer volume of clients we’re continuing to see coming forward having fallen ill during stays in Cape Verde over the last three years is incredibly concerning,” he told the Telegraph.

In 2022, 806 people reported falling ill in Cape Verde to the firm, followed by 65 in 2023 and 55 this year.

“The numbers involved show that these aren’t isolated incidents,” Paul said, adding that it painted a “worrying picture”.

Gastrointestinal illnesses don’t just ruin a holiday; they can have long-term health impacts, gastroenterologist Richard Gearry, who heads the University of Otago’s Department of Medicine, recently told the Herald. Symptoms can take months or years to resolve depending on the type of illness.

Santa Maria beach in Sal, Cape Verde. Photo / 123rf

Plummer and Waller said their dream holiday turned into an experience they wish to forget after both falling violently ill. They noticed food at the resort was typically served lukewarm and uncovered but thought little of it until they both became sick during the second week of the holiday.

“What started as headaches and a feeling of nausea, became the worst sickness and diarrhoea I’ve ever known,” Plummer said.

“I think everyone has probably had an upset stomach at one time or another, but I have never felt so ill.”

Reviews warn travellers of food posioning

After returning home, Plummer checked reviews of their hotel and soon found mentions of illness and food poisoning.

Those searching through 5-star hotel reviews in Sal can also find recent mentions of travellers who fell ill.

“Third day here and I have food poisoning. A lot of people have the same symptoms today,” one person shared in a review of a 5-star accommodation in August.

“I got sick in the hotel of food poisoning eating [their] food,” another wrote of the same hotel in July.

Another traveller said they had a “holiday from hell” in a review posted last week from another five-star hotel. The man claimed he’d visited with his wife to celebrate her 50th birthday but they both ended up with food poisoning and one allegedly went on a drip in hospital.

At the same hotel, a review four months ago said they also fell seriously ill.

“Contracted severe sickness and diarrhoea, fever, tight chest, fatigue after four days of being here and couldn’t leave my room,” they wrote. Hotel staff allegedly told the woman it’s common for tourists to fall ill in a foreign country but she believed it was due to the hotel’s poor hygiene standards.