Holiday food poisoning and you

If you have suffered holiday food poisoning or an accident abroad on holiday, which was not your fault, you could claim compensation from the tour operator when you return to the UK, with the help of a now in no fee holiday illness solicitor.



Holiday illness is likely to ruin your trip and will also leave you out of pocket if you have to pay for medical advice, prescriptions etc., As the number of all inclusive hotel packages increase, so do the confirmed cases of food poisoning and Salmonella is a common holiday illness, particularly when food is prepared in unhygienic surroundings.



Salmonella is one of the most common forms of food poisoning abroad and, if you have ever been ill after eating out in a restaurant, you are likely to have suffered from Salmonella. Symptoms of Salmonella include diarrhoea, vomiting, sickness and fever, and, although they usually clear up within 3-4 days, the can last much longer if they go untreated. Salmonella is commonly contracted from eating undercooked meat and eggs.



Even if your symptoms seem to have cleared up, get checked out by your GP when you return home as you could still be carrying the bacteria. Salmonella usually passes naturally but symptoms can become serious if they are not treated properly and young children, older people, pregnant women and people with weakened immune symptoms are particularly susceptible to serious illness linked to Salmonella food poisoning.



Cryptosporidium infection causes similar symptoms as Salmonella food poisoning, including diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach cramps and fever. Symptoms usually occur after eating infected meat, offal or contaminated water and typically last two to three weeks.



Campylobacter can cause symptoms of stomach cramps, blood in diarrhoea and sickness. This type of infection often occurs after eating raw seafood or undercooked meat and fish. Pregnant women, people with weakened immune systems and young children are most likely to suffer serious illness after suffering Campylobacter infection.



E.coli can also cause serious illness and even death if it is not treated quickly and correctly. This type of infection causes symptoms of diarrhoea, vomiting, fever and stomach cramps and is typically contracted after eating undercooked meat, particularly minced beef, used to make burgers or sausages.



Gastroenteritis affects thousands of Brits on holiday every year and is typically passed from person to person via the faecal-oral route. Symptoms include vomiting and diarrhoea and are often caused by eating poorly prepared food, or food which is prepared or stored incorrectly.

Different types of bacteria can cause Gastroenteritis, including Salmonella, Shigella, Staphylococcus, Campylobacter and E.coli and symptoms nearly always include diarrhoea and vomiting. If you make a complaint to the hotel management or the holiday rep, make sure you keep a copy of any paperwork you sign and make a note of the name of the person you speak to. This will all help as evidence if you decide to make a claim for holiday illness compensation when you return to the UK.



Food poisoning cases at all inclusive package tour hotels in Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Cuba, Mexico, Turkey, the Maldives, the Dominican Republic and elsewhere have increased in the past 18 months and you should always seek the advice of a regulated UK holiday illness solicitor if you have suffered sickness in a holiday hotel. You could claim a substantial amount of compensation from the tour operator with the help of a no win, no fee solicitor in the UK and it won´t cost you a penny to make a claim.







Adrian vultur writes for Holiday illness claims