Salmonella outbreak at Hotel Cosmopolitan

At least 20 British holidaymakers have been affected by an outbreak of Salmonella at the Hotel Cosmopolitan in Rhodes. Travel law specialists Irwin Mitchell who currently act for a number of the holidaymakers affected said that clients have reported a range of severe gastric symptoms as a result of their stay, with a large number suffering from ongoing symptoms since their return to the UK.

Mr Barrie Jermy (36) a Health & Safety inspector from Great Yarmouth in Norfolk travelled on holiday with his wife, and daughter, his parents and sister and brother in law together with their 2 children, in August this year with Thomas Cook. All of the family suffered severe gastric illness with 3 of the party being diagnosed with Salmonella.

Mr Jermy said "The Hotel was supposed to be a 4* but was more like a 2*, with bare wires hanging from the plug sockets." He continued "During my family's stay an environmental Health inspector visited the hotel and removed diary products, cooked meats and ice cream.

"As a Health & Safety Inspector in Norwich, I went on holiday to unwind. However there was no chance of that with the poor hygiene standards at the hotel. The food was left uncovered and not served at the correct temperature, and flies and insects were seen on the food."

Mrs Coralyn Thorpe (44) from Peterborough in Cambridgeshire travelled to the Hotel Cosmopolitan with First Choice with her husband and their 2 children. Mrs Thorpe fell ill on the second day of her holiday with diarrhoea, stomach cramps and vomiting.

Salmonella outbreak hospitalised two children

Mrs Thorpe said "The public toilets were shut down, I presume due to the amount of ill people using them in an emergency. I also spoke to many people who were ill including the father of 2 children who had been hospitalised due to the extent of their illness."

She continued "The pool was dirty and the some of the tiles around the pool were not held down properly and were cracked and sticking up. My daughter pulled the plug on the hairdryer and the whole socket came out from the wall!."

Suki Chhokar, Travel litigation lawyer at Irwin Mitchell Solicitors said "We urge people to come forward if they have been affected by illness at the Hotel Cosmopolitan in Rhodes."

Suki Chhokar has called for tour operators to improve hygiene standards at the hotels they are advertising in their brochures as clients are continuing to fall ill whilst on holiday and some clients are contracting infections that can result in long terms symptoms.

If you or someone you know has been affected by Salmonella, or any illness contracted abroad, our solicitors can help. Visit our illness abroad claims section.