Urgent warning for Brits travelling to Turkey this summer amid huge outbreak of serious stomach sickness in hotspot
BRITS travelling to Turkey have been given an urgent warning about a huge stomach sickness outbreak sweeping across a holiday hotspot.
Hundreds of tourists coming back from popular resort region Antalya have gone down ill - sparking an investigation by health chiefs.
The NHS reported nearly 250 cases of gastrointestinal sickness from people returning from Turkey this summer.
And the salmonella enteritidis strain has now been identified in potentially-contagious clusters by the UK Health Security Agency.
Many of those coming forward as unwell had stayed in Turkey's Antalya province, where beach resorts include Kas and Kalkan.
And the majority of the 241 cases had been staying in all-inclusive hotels with buffet food laid on for guests, reports.
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But the UKHSA says the original source of the bug remains unclear - and warned anyone visiting should be on extra alert.
Some 56 per cent of the reported infections - from "a number of different hotels in Turkey" - were men with an average age of 29.
The UKHSA said: "Most cases report eating a wide variety of different foods within their hotel resort as part of an all-inclusive holiday package."
Potential symptoms of the salmonella bug can include fever, stomach cramps, diarrhoea and nausea - with children and the elderly feared to be most vulnerable to longer-term problems.
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A UKHSA spokesperson urged people to take "simple steps" to reduce their risk since the "source of the illness has not yet been identified".
These include washing hands thoroughly, "especially after using the toilet and before preparing or eating food".
They added: "People feeling unwell with gastrointestinal illness should avoid preparing food or drinks for others until they are free of symptoms."
The warnings follow another health alert to Brits heading abroad this summer, this time those hitting Barcelona in Spain amid concerns about a new mpox outbreak.
Elsewhere in Spain a shark alert was raised in Valencia.
Holiday-makers were told popular resorts along Portugal's Algarve could pose a danger as wildfires spread across southern Europe.
The warnings come in a summer of sunbed wars at holiday resorts.
