Food Poisoning on Holiday Abroad
Have you or your family have been struck by illness or sickness on holiday or by
a food poisoning outbreak at a hotel. Call our Holiday Compensation Specialists and
claim compensation today.
No Win No Fee - Food Poisoning Specialists
Do not accept any offers of compensation until you have taken legal advice from
a specialist food poisoning solicitor.
Call now on 0808 145 1353 or complete our no-obligation
online enquiry form
Food poisoning on holiday is mainly caused by a bacterial infection
– it is not an airborne virus or a bug as tour operators will claim.
Anyone who has suffered from food poisoning on holiday abroad will
know only to well what a horrible experience it is. The last thing you want is your
holiday ruined by illness
especially if you have young children.
Food poisoning on holiday can be easily avoided if food is cooked thoroughly and
basic food hygiene practices are followed. Food poisoning at hotels is unacceptable.
Information is set out below as a guide to the common food poisoning symptoms
and the different types of illness you may pick up whilst on
holiday abroad.
Holiday Food Poisoning Symptoms
Food poisoning can develop rapidly and within an hour or slowly and over a matter
of weeks depending on the infection.
Typical symptoms of food poisoning on holiday abroad
include:
Mild or severe diarrhoea – stomach cramps – fever – lethargy – loss of appetite
– aching muscles and joints – headaches – dizziness and confusion – vomiting – flu
symptoms – rigors – hot and cold chills – a stiff neck.
But food poisoning can also lead to more serious secondary conditions
such as an Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Reactive Arthritis or
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Campylobacter can cause serious secondary conditions such as
Guillain-Barré Syndrome - a disorder where the body's immune system
attacks the nervous system which can lead to paralysis.
Salmonella is known to cause Reiter’s Syndrome
or a "reactive arthritis" – symptoms include joint pain and eye irritation and pain
passing water. Most joints may be affected but the pain and is most commonly experienced
in fingers, toes, knees, ankles and hips. Most people recover within a yea but in
some cases leads to chronic arthritis.
Shigella can cause bacteria to enter the blood stream leading to
seizures due to high fever particularly in children under the age of two years.
If you have been diagnosed with food poisoning whilst on holiday
abroad get in touch now with our holiday compensation Specialists
who can help you make a claim.
Holiday Food Poisoning Illnesses
The most common type of holiday illness and sickness our claims
team deal with as a result of poor hotel hygiene or food poisoning
include:
Simpson Millar LLP’s Holiday Claims Specialists also pursue food poisoning and illness
claims involving unusual diseases such as:
- Typhoid
- Caused by the bacterium Salmonella typhi. It is passed on by the ingestion of food
or water contaminated with faeces from an infected person Note: ice cubes are a
potential source and so is salad washed in tap water
- Typhoid does not affect animals and therefore transmission is only from human to
human
- Typhoid can only spread in environments where human faeces or urine are able to
come into contact with food or drinking water
- Amoebic dysentery
- Amoebiasis is usually transmitted by the faecal-oral route but can be transmitted
indirectly through contact with dirty hands or objects ie door knobs, food handling
utensils, toilet handles
- Amoebic dysentery is often confused with "traveller's diarrhoea" because of its
prevalence in developing nations. In fact, most traveller's diarrhoea is bacterial
or viral in origin
- Giardia lamblia
- Giardia infection can occur through ingestion of contaminated water, food, or by
the faecal-oral route (through poor hygiene practices)
- The Giardia cyst can survive for months in warm water and therefore can be present
in contaminated wells and water systems, especially stagnant water sources such
as naturally occurring ponds, pools and storm water storage systems
- It may also occur in city reservoirs and persist after water treatment, as the Giardia
cysts are resistant to conventional water treatment methods such as chlorination
- In addition to waterborne sources, faecal-oral transmission can also occur, for
example in children’s holiday clubs, where children may have poor hygiene practices.
Those who work with children are also at risk of being infected, as are family members
of infected individuals
- Giardia affects humans, but is also one of the most common parasites infecting cats,
dogs and birds
- Norovirus
- Noroviruses are transmitted directly via person to person or indirectly via contaminated
water and food
- The source of waterborne outbreaks may include water from tap water supplies, wells,
swimming pools and ice machines
- Shellfish and salads are the foods most often implicated in Norwalk outbreaks. Ingestion
of raw or insufficiently steamed oysters poses a high risk for infection with the
Norwalk virus
- Foods other than shellfish can be contaminated by ill food handlers
- Hepatitis A
- Most commonly transmitted by the faecal-oral route via contaminated food or drinking
water
- In developing countries, and in regions with poor hygiene standards, the incidence
of infection with this virus is high
Foreign Countries
Our Holiday Compensation Specialists pursue compensation claims on behalf of holiday
makers returning ill with food poisoning from:
These holiday destinations are featured by the UK’s leading
tour operators including:
All of whom offer summer and winter all-inclusive hotel package holidays.
Preventing Food Poisoning on Holiday
Holiday sickness caused by food poisoning is preventable:
Sanitation and good hygiene practices are the
critical measures that can be taken to prevent food poisoning.
- Food handling staff should wash their hands regularly
- Raw and cooked meats should not be allowed to cross-contaminate
- Food should be cooked thoroughly, and
- Vegetables and salads washed in clean water
- Food work surfaces and cutting boards should be disinfected
- Eggs which carry the
salmonella bacteria should be stored and prepared separately
- Chicken should be cooked at a temperature of at least 170 degrees and never served
pink or bloody. Thigh meat should be cooked at least 180 degrees
- Salmonella, Ecoli and Campylobacter are usually caused by poor food hygiene standards
- Cryptosporidium and Giardia lamblia are caused by contaminated water
Food Poisoning on Holiday Compensation Enquiry
If your family has been affected by illness at a hotel or onboard
a cruise-ship then please contact our Holiday Claims Specialists
today for free advice. Our Holiday Food Poisoning Claims Team
offer a "no win no fee" service so you pay nothing!
Call freephone 0808 145 1353 or complete our
online enquiry form and we will get in touch with you.
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