MORE than 2,000 tourists are taking legal action against TUI after a “war zone” stomach bug ripped through Cape Verde – with lawyers warning it’s just the tip of the iceberg.
The West African archipelago attracts over one million visitors annually, guaranteeing a sun-soaked holiday.
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Elena Walsh died after suffering a severe illness while on a luxury holiday in Cape Verde Credit: SWNS
Karen Pooley, 64, is also among the Brits to have died after falling sick in Cape Verde last year Credit: PA
But the tourist hotspot has been plagued by a deadly cocktail of stomach bugs in recent years.
Eight Brit holidaymakers have died and more than 2,000 tourists are now taking legal action against their tour providers – with the number of claimants rising by the week, lawyers said.
UK health officials have issued a warning against travelling to the country.
Victims claim they have been hit by stomach illnesses, including Shigella, Salmonella, Cryptosporidium, Giardia and Campylobacter, with some left with crippling symptoms and unable to work.
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Jatinder Paul, the lawyer representing the victims through Irwin Mitchell, told The Jattvibe: “This could just be the tip of the iceberg. These are just the people that have contacted us.
“In all my years of doing this – and that’s about 20 years of representing people that have suffered serious injuries abroad – I’ve not come across a case such as this.”
His team is helping the thousands of Brits who visited Cape Verde in the last three years and returned with serious bacterial infections.
“This litigation is on an absolute huge scale,” Paul said. “It’s not something that I’ve ever seen before.”
Cape Verde is a dream holiday destination for many Brits Credit: Alamy
Elena Walsh (centre) with her husband, Patrick (left) and their son Sean (right) Credit: SWNS
The cases are being pursued against holiday package provider TUI, which is accused of wilfully sending tourists into unsafe environments, resulting in death in eight tragic cases.
TUI has taken more than one million holidaymakers to Cape Verde since 2022.
Tour operators have a responsibility to ensure hotels are properly inspected and that basic health and hygiene standards are followed, Paul said.
Holidaymakers have repeatedly reported near identical complaints, which Paul believes could point to a common source.
The Jattvibe previously reported that water supplies on the islands have been plagued by problems for months, with broken treatment plants and storm damage being blamed.
Paul revealed claims of old food being re-served, vermin and animals in buffet areas filthy rooms and filthy swimming pools.
He added: “We’ve heard over and over again meat being uncooked. We’ve seen photographs of chicken that is quite clearly raw. We’ve seen flies on food, considerable flies on food.”
Paul said many clients returned home with confirmed bacterial pathogens in stool samples.
Cape Verde is a popular British tourist destination Credit: Getty
Karen Pooley, 64, pictured with her son, died after coming down with a sickness and diarrhoea bug Credit: PA
“There’s literally a cocktail of different pathogens, which are very nasty for people that are already immunosuppressed,” he said.
The infections can be especially dangerous for elderly people, children and those with pre-existing conditions, Paul added.
“People are dying and coming back with serious infections like Shigella,” he said.
Elena Walsh, from Birmingham, died on August 10 last year after staying at the five-star RIU Cabo Verde resort.
Her son, Sean Walsh, said his 64-year-old mother became ill very quickly.
Karen Pooley, from Lydney, also died in October after a two-week holiday booked through Tui.
She became unwell with a stomach bug and broke her leg while running to the bathroom to be sick after slipping on water leaking from a fridge.
The 64-year-old was airlifted from Cape Verde to Tenerife and died from sepsis and multi-organ failure.
Mark Ashley, top left, from Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire died after a family holiday to Cape Verde Credit: PA
Once little known, Cape Verde has boomed as a holiday destination over the past two decades Credit: Getty
Holidaymaker Mark Ashley, 55, from Bedfordshire, and another 56-year-old also died last year.
They are four of the eight Brits who have died after holidays since January 2023, lawyers said.
Shigella can be caught through faecal matter, contaminated pool water, or salads or fruit washed with dirty water.
Helen Wardle described her Cape Verde holiday last year as the “worst and scariest experience”.
The 55-year-old, from Plymouth, said she felt fine for the first few days of her holiday – but then felt uncontrollably sick, and overcome with sweats, shivers, convulsions and stomach cramps.
She spent 24 hours in her hotel room, suffering severe dehydration and exhaustion.
As her condition deteriorated and left unable to stand, Helen was rushed to an on-site doctor – only to find there was a queue of others stretching out to the car park.
Helen said: “There was nowhere to sit. I actually laid down on the car park floor at this point because I couldn’t stand.”
Helen Wardle, pictured with her husband, was left violently ill on holiday in Cape VerdeCredit: Supplied
Helen shared a photograph of her hospital stay, where she was placed on IV drips
After a long wait, Helen was eventually seen and placed on IV drips – but says she was given little explanation as to why she was so unwell.
She sent her blood test results to her daughter, who works for the NHS, and received grim readings.
Helen said: “You could see I was fighting off a really serious infection.”
After a nightmare flight back to the UK – which Helen recalls as “the worst day of my life” – her condition worsened significantly.
She said: “I was hallucinating. The kids were really worried about me.”
Urgent medical tests later confirmed she had contracted multiple highly-contagious bacterial infections – including Shigella, Cryptosporidium and Giarda.
All three are serious waterborne pathogens that, if left untreated, could result in death.
Helen says her symptoms lasted for two months and continue to affect her everyday life.
Despite the traumatising experience, Helen slammed TUI’s response.
She claimed: “The reps just said, ‘it’s gastroenteritis, you’re in a foreign country drinking things you don’t normally drink’.
“I’ve travelled all over the world and I’ve never experienced anything like this. I knew it wasn’t just a dicky tummy.”
Helen claims she was given a leaflet on gastroenteritis and a list of things to do if you fall ill.
She said: “The fact that they’ve got it photocopied and to hand show how many people are going down with it.”
Helen was appalled by the way others have reacted to Brits getting struck down by deadly stomach bugs in Cape Verde.
She said: “I’ve read all these people’s comment saying stuff like ‘dirty Brits not washing their hands’.
“I’ve done nothing to deserve getting ill. Please don’t blame us, saying that we’re unhygienic.
“Shigella bacteria has to be ingested as it comes from faeces. You’ve got to eat it to fall ill.”
TUI has denied liability in almost all claims to date.
Paul has urged the company to “come to the table” and resolve the cases.
He claims TUI has insisted there was “nothing wrong at these hotels” and the properties were properly audited.
“The numbers that we’re dealing with, simply, just aren’t consistent with what TUI is telling us,” Paul said.
TUI and RIU Hotels & Resorts previously said they were “deeply saddened” by the deaths and offered their “heartfelt condolences to the families affected”.
The Jattvibe has contacted TUI and RIU hotels for comment.
Five signs of Shigella to know
Shigella is a bowel infection that can cause severe diarrhoea. It’s caused by bacteria called shigella.
The bacteria is most commonly found in faeces (poo). It’s usually caused by food contamination.
Anyone can get shigella, however it’s most common in young children. It can also be passed on through sex.
The symptoms:
Most people with shigella infection have mild symptoms that settle within a few days.
According to the NHS, these include:
Watery diarrhoea – sometimes containing blood, mucus or pus in severe cases
Feeling sick or being sick
Abdominal pain
High temperature (fever) over 38C (100.4F)
Feeling down or depressed
Symptoms usually start 1 to 3 days after infection and can last up to 1 week.
People should drink plenty of fluids during this time to avoid getting dehydrated.
It usually clears up on its own, but you should seek medical advice if your symptoms are severe, you notice blood in your stool, or they last for more than three days.
Doctors can prescribe an antibiotics which can shorten the time people have a fever and diarrhoea by about 2 days.
