Family Struck with Gastric Illness in Greece

A Kettering family have expressed their horror after their holiday to Greece was completely ruined when they became ill after swimming in a hotel pool – in which someone had defecated.

Family holiday ruined

Rosanna Cowley, 27, travelled to the Greek island of Zante in August of this year with her partner and two children, Ellie and Joshua. However their all-inclusive holiday at the Marelen Hotel did not go as planned after they were struck down by a severe gastric illness.

According to Rosanna, one day the family were enjoying a swim in the hotel pool when someone alerted staff that there was faeces in the water.

Staff reportedly responded by fishing the stool out of the water, while guests were still swimming nearby. Hotel staff are then said to have treated the water, again as people swam nearby.

Rosanna said:

“It was hideous. We had all swam in that pool. As soon as I started feeling unwell I just knew it was bad. And then one by one we all came down with it.”

Gastric illness

After swimming in the contaminated pool, the Cowleys, along with 13 other guests at the hotel, contracted a gastric illness caused by the parasite Cryptosporidium. Symptoms brought on by the parasite include vomiting and diarrhoea, and the family claim that they have still not fully recovered three months later.

Rosanna has decided to take legal action against Thomas Cook, the tour operator with whom the holiday was booked with.

Rosanna added:

“When I got back to the UK I went to see my doctor and was soon told I had Cryptosporidium.

“We were visited by environmental health officers and the whole thing was really distressing, especially for Ellie who is too young to understand what was going on.

“When you pay to go on holiday with a company like Thomas Cook, you do not expect to have to worry about basic hygiene standards.

“After what we have been through I would hate to think of anyone else suffering in the same way.”

A spokesman for Thomas Cook said it will investigate thoroughly. The spokesman said:

“We know how important holidays are and we work hard to make sure that all of our customers enjoy their time away, so we were concerned to hear of this unusual case.

“When we receive information directly on these reports we will investigate thoroughly.”

Holiday sickness claims – expert advice

If you believe that your holiday illness symptoms are linked to poor hygiene standards within your package deal hotel, you may be entitled to holiday illness compensation. There are certain steps that you could take in support of your claim:

•Note all important dates
•Report any hygiene issues to your holiday rep
•Document any suspected poor hygiene (e.g. photo, video)

For further information on holiday sickness compensation, please see our ‘Package Holiday Claims’ page.
To discover how much compensation you could be entitled to, call our expert team of travel law solicitors today for instant answers. Whatever your experience with holiday sickness, we may be able to help. We offer you a FREE no-obligation consultation. Call 0800 888 6 888 or email .

Source: Northamptonshire Telegraph