British boy battles food poisoning at Egyptian resort where couple died
A BRITISH boy developed sepsis after contracting food poisoning at the same Egyptian resort where a couple died suddenly last month.
Luay Mohammed, seven, is fighting for his life after falling ill with salmonella while on holiday with his family at the five-star Tia Heights at Makadi Bay in Hurghada.
The boy is now in intensive care after his condition worsened and he suffered a stroke.
‘It was terrifying, I thought we were losing him,’ Luay’s mother
Couple die within hours of each other at luxury hotel From the Mail, August 24
Fathia Obayd, 30, said. ‘It makes me so angry this all began with food poisoning. Luay is just a little boy.’
It comes after British couple John and Susan Cooper died within hours of each other at another hotel at the resort.
Mrs Obayd, of Balsall Heath, Birmingham, said she and her children, including daughter Layan, six, and son Naji, two, had diarrhoea during their fortnight stay at the Red Sea hotel. But they were simply told to eat natural yogurt by staff.
‘The buffet was appalling and we saw rats,’ she said. ‘We told staff we felt unwell but they told us to eat yoghurt.’
Luay, who suffers from sickle cell anaemia, and his family arrived home on August 10 but his condition worsened.
‘He woke screaming – struggling to breathe, hallucinating, with a fever,’ Mrs Obayd told the Sunday Mirror.
She took him to Birmingham Children’s Hospital on August 17 and tests found salmonella.
‘They said it was most likely from our holiday,’ she said.
The infection caused an abscess on his spleen and further complications triggered sepsis that spread to his spine. On August 18, Luay went into septic shock. ‘I prepared for the worst,’ his mother said.
Luay’s condition is critical but stable. Yesterday he was having tests for long-term damage.
They were with 12 other relatives for a fortnight break at Tia Heights from July 27. The hotel has 480 rooms and 14 restaurants and bars. It has received many positive reviews on Trip Advisor but some are critical of the cleanliness and food.
The hotel is 16 miles along the coast from where Mr and Mrs Cooper, 69 and 64, from Burnley, were staying when they fell ill and died in mysterious circumstances on August 21. Traces of E.coli have since been found at their hotel, the five-star Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel. Mrs Obayd is complaining to her holiday provider Purple Travel. The firm said she should have sought ‘immediate medical assistance’. Purple Travel did not comment yesterday.
Tia Heights said: ‘During their stay we had almost 3,550 guests and we did not have one case of salmonella. Any place has positive and negative reviews.’