Holiday illness

Juliex

Hi, I'm new to the forum and would love some advice, we've just come home from holiday in Costa Adeje Tenerife, we had a lovely first few days in an all inclusive hotel, last Wednesday evening, my husband, stepson and daughter ( who are both in their 20's ) went to the restaurant for dinner, my daughter took a salmon steak from a tray, she was the only one to take one as when she turned around after leaving the counter the chef had taken the tray away and told another lady that the salmon would be back on in 10 mins ( my daughter didn't tell us this until after she had eaten half of the steak and discovered it wasn't cooked in the middle ), she left the other half, the following evening she had violent stomach cramps, the Friday she was so ill that the hotel called for the doctor who gave her a jab to stop the sickness and 3 different types of meds, he said it was most probably a virus and we no doubt would catch it, which we haven't, we told the reception manager of our concerns but they said they had no other complaints, which they wouldn't have had as my daughter was the only one to eat any, the hotel was very helpful, with bowls of soup, extra blankets and even a member of staff went to the local supermarket and came to our room with re hydrant drinks, the manager said he had talked to the restaurant staff but no one knew who took the tray away, but they were aware of our daughters illness and anything we wanted making for her they would, the chef kept saying how sorry she was but when we asked about the Salmon no one said they were aware of it, we booked the hotel direct and the flights separately, does anyone know if it's worth contacting the hotel or would it be a waste of time? my daughter is still ill and she's hopefully going to see a doctor tomorrow, this was a holiday for her birthday and now we all feel so upset that she's come home so ill, sorry to go on a little too long on this thread.

redmalc

I would expect it's down to what the doctor has told you about your daughters illness.
If they have not diagnosed food poisoning I think you will be wasting your time

eDicky

Juliex wrote: »

the following evening she had violent stomach cramps,

If it was the salmon the effects would probably have been felt earlier.

ladymarmalade

eDicky wrote: »

If it was the salmon the effects would probably have been felt earlier.

Not necessarily. Depending on the bacteria involved it can take up to 72 hours for symptoms to show.

Backbiter

You'll need to have a sample analysed to see if it was food poisoning.

When my son was 11 months old we went to a hotel in Ibiza and several days into the holiday he became violently ill. He was rushed to hospital by ambulance, detained but discharged within 36 hours. We flew home a day or two later, and when the symptoms persisted we took him to the GP. A couple of days later we had a visit from Environmental Health who wanted to look at our food preparation as he had salmonella poisoning. We explained that he had become ill abroad so it wasn't our food preparation but the hotel's that had made him ill. It could have been under-cooked chicken or eggs, or it could have been passed on via a carrier of salmonella involved in food preparation with poor hygiene (i.e no hand washing after using the toilet).
He was ill for 4 months during which time he had to provide a sample every two days. Until they came back clear he was not allowed any contact with other children as he was in nappies and was a therefore carrier of the potentially lethal salmonella. My wife and I, who both work full time, had to take alternate days off work until he was finally clear of the bug. He's never had a recurrence.
We complained to the tour operator (Thomson) who paid us £300 in compensation. I expect in the USA we'd have had 100 times that.

LadyDee

If it was the last piece of salmon on the dish then other pieces must have been eaten already by other diners. Were you aware of any others being ill? If your daughter was alone in being ill then the initial suggestion by the resort's doctor that a virus was the likely cause would appear to be most probably correct. The face that you didn't become ill is irrelevant.

Actually, ice cream is one of the most common causes of illnesses abroad - had she eaten ice cream that day?

Unless a sample was taken of the salmon it's more or less impossible to prove one way or another what caused her illness.

eDicky

LadyDee wrote: »

If it was the last piece of salmon on the dish then other pieces must have been eaten already by other diners. Were you aware of any others being ill?

The story seems to be that the tray of salmon was suddenly withdrawn, not that the daughter had the last piece. This could imply that somebody had already complained that the fish was not cooked properly. However, it's still only a possible source of the infection, we don't know about the next day's activities and consumption. The question of other cases of illness is certainly relevant, but actually proving responsibility would not be easy.

peachyprice

Under cooked salmon in itself won't make you ill, some people prefer it that way, and you can eat it raw.

Juliex

Sorry I was tired yesterday when I posted, it was the first piece of Salmon that she had not the last, that's why it's frustrating as no one else had the salmon, no she didn't have any ice cream, we know we can't prove it was the Salmon it's just upsetting as she's still ill and has to drive to work today which is an hour away as her employer isn't taking her seriously, thank you all for your replies

agrinnall

Juliex wrote: »

... she's still ill and has to drive to work today which is an hour away as her employer isn't taking her seriously...

She really didn't have to.

https://www.gov.uk/taking-sick-leave

eDicky

peachyprice wrote: »

Under cooked salmon in itself won't make you ill, some people prefer it that way, and you can eat it raw.

True enough, but salmon in Tenerife is not fresh caught locally, there is an import and supply chain and then hotel kitchen handling - so not quite the sushi restaurant style supply and preparation, and any bacterial contamination will only be controlled by sufficient cooking. After Juliex's clarification it looks to me that the fish is probably guilty.