Aurora Cruise Ship

A Hampshire man has contacted travel lawyers at Irwin Mitchell after contracting Hepatitis E while on board the Aurora cruise ship.

Russell Brockbank and his wife Deirdre travelled on board the ship in March and are among a group of more than 700 British holidaymakers believed to have been affected.

Mr Brockbank started to suffer from skin complaints and anaphylaxis while the ship was docked in Sharm El Sheikh.

The 68-year-old from Emsworth visited the ship’s doctor and was given antihistamines and steroids to reduce the shock caused by anaphylaxis.

Mr Brockbank said: “It was a very unusual illness and the effect of the anaphylaxis was particularly worrying. I was very weak and continued to feel ill for several weeks after returning from the cruise. There were a large number of guests affected on board the ship and people seemed to be suffering from many of the same symptoms.”

A Health Protection Agency spokesperson said the illness was most likely to have been caused by contaminated food or water.

Clive Garner, Head of Irwin Mitchell's Travel Law team said: "We are currently investigating this incident on behalf of Mr Brockbank and are expecting enquiries from other passengers who became ill.  We are very concerned about how passengers contracted this serious condition during their cruises on board the Aurora. The conclusions of the Health Protection Agency pointing to contaminated food or drinks as the source of infection are very alarming and we are investigating whether all reasonable steps were taken to avoid passengers being put at risk of suffering illness."