Woman thought she 'would die' after 'catching Hepatitis A' while on four-star all-inclusive holiday
Doctors fought to save a woman after she was left with life-threatening Hepatitis A on an all-inclusive holiday in Egypt.
Olivia Hartley, 28, and her partner Thomas Winn, 31, jetted off to a four-star all-inclusive in Hurghada, Egypt - which she chose not to name - last September, but began to fall ill one week into the £1,400 holiday.
Olivia, who lives in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, booked the holiday through easyJet, but was left hospitalised after claiming hotel staff didn’t wash their hands.
On the flight home, her partner Thomas vomited ‘six times’, while she fell ill with sickness and diarrhoea 48 hours after landing back in the UK.
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Doctors told her that it was ‘very likely’ that she had contracted Hepatitis A - a liver infection that is spread in the poo of an infected person.
She reported that she was unable to keep food or down for three days, after being told her liver and kidney functions were abnormal.
Doctors were so concerned, that they feared Olivia may need to have a liver transplant if her condition did not improve.
The 28-year-old is convinced she caught the infection after staying at the hotel, which she chose not to name, claiming the food and hygiene standards were ‘terrible’.
Olivia, an assistant psychologist, said: “There were birds everywhere, food lay stagnant for a long, long time, they just poured new food on top of old food that had been out for hours.
“The doctors told me my liver was in a very bad way and I have kidney damage from the dehydration.
"They were very worried about the liver results and concerned due to the high Hepatitis rates in Egypt. With all that, they said it's very likely you have Hepatitis.
“They were 99.9% sure I'd got it from the hotel.
"This was going to be the holiday we really needed and it turned into an absolute nightmare.
“It put me off package holidays, this was our first break since Covid.
"I nearly didn't live to tell the tale."
She described it as the holiday from ‘hell’, and has been told by specialists that her liver could deteriorate at any point - which could result in a transplant.
EasyJet said in a statement: “We're really sorry to hear about this customer's experience, and we're proactively reaching out to resolve their complaints, now that they've been brought to our attention.
"It's our priority to support our customers throughout their experience, from the booking process to returning home, and we want nothing more than to deliver brilliant holidays.”
Mia Williams