Around 170 People Are Reported To Have Suffered Gastric Illness

A number of people have instructed specialist Public Health lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate after they fell ill following - and some during - a youth football tournament in Devon earlier this month.

According to press reports, up to 170 adults and children are reported to have suffered from diarrhoea and vomiting after staying at the Devon Valley Holiday Village as part of the tournament. Public Health England have confirmed to media that six people are confirmed to have a Cryptosporidium infection, which is a parasite that can cause serious gastrointestinal symptoms, and can be particularly problematic for children.

Expert Opinion

“It’s concerning to hear the reports from a number of our clients that they were terribly unwell after their stay at the Devon Valley Holiday Village, and we have already started investigations into finding out how it happened and if it could have been prevented.

We would be interested in speaking to others who have been similarly affected by this incident to help us with our investigations.

Cryptosporidium is a water-borne infection that can be very serious especially for people with poor immune systems, so it’s important for us to determine where it came from and support our clients in getting better.”
Amandeep Dhillon - Partner

The Public Health Team at national firm, Irwin Mitchell, have vast experience of handling illness outbreak cases arising from incidents in the UK including holiday resorts, restaurants and public establishments in the UK, such as successfully representing almost 30 people who contracted Salmonella from contaminated food from the Real China restaurant in Southampton, and successfully representing almost 300 diners who fell ill after visiting the Toby Carvery Exeter Arms in Exeter in 2015.

Case study

Coventry

Three members of the same family began to feel ill on May 7.  Michael White, 39, from Coventry suffered mild stomach cramps and diarrhoea, while his children – 11-year-old Micky and 9-year-old Mckai – experienced severe stomach cramps, diarrhoea, vomiting, loss of appetite and weight loss. 

Both children are still troubled with symptoms and have been to see their GP.  They are currently awaiting results of a stool sample.

Michael said: “The football tournament was supposed to be a nice getaway for me and the kids, but it just ended in misery.  All three of us started having bad diarrhoea and cramps, and the children were also being sick.

“So many people were complaining of being unwell – it was awful – but we couldn’t see anything wrong at the time.  I think the swimming pool could have been the source of the illness because many of the football team who became ill used it.”

Find out more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in handling illness cases