Cape Verde deaths: Four British holidaymakers die in three months despite 'manageable' health conditions
Four British holidaymakers with underlying health conditions have died in the space of three months while in Cape Verde.
An investigation by the Times, published this weekend, has found that Brits have been misdiagnosed with health conditions they did not have, exposed to bacterial infections and left waiting days for surgery that needed to be performed immediately.
All of this has taken place on Cape Verde, a nation state of 10 islands of the coast of west Africa. The nearest continental countries to Cape Verde are Mauritania, Senegal and The Gambia.
The Times claimed all four deaths came from holidaymakers staying in Rui hotels, a Spanish chain with six resorts on the islands. While all four Brits had underlying health conditions, the newspaper found them to have not been given proper medical attention in the midst of a viral outbreak.
According to the Foreign Office, the quality of healthcare in Cape Verde is “very basic and limited”, with government officials in the African state currently investigating “standing water sources” and pest control.
The number of tourists visiting Cape Verde has increased almost ten-fold since 2000, with Brits making up 36 per cent of holidaymakers.
But towards the end of 2025, the islands had been gripped by a shigella outbreak - something the investigation found tourists were not being told about; nor were they informed on how to keep themselves safe.
Shigella is a bacterial infection that causes stomach cramps, fever and diarrhoea, caused by contaminated faeces. It can be transmitted via food, water or person-to-person contact. The majority of people make a full recovery, but it can be deadly for those with underlying health conditions.
As per health officials from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), there has been a notable increase in shigella cases. The UK Health Security Agency has also reported 137 cases between October and December last year, of which 80 per cent had come from Cape Verde.
Now, lawyers from Irwin Mitchell say they are representing six British families affected by tragedy while on holiday there.
They include Elena Walsh, 64, from Birmingham, Mark Ashley, 55, of Bedfordshire, and 64-year-old Karen Pooley from Gloucestershire.
Ashley’s wife, Emma, said: “We went to Cape Verde expecting a relaxing break, but Mark became violently ill and never recovered.”
Pooley’s husband, Andy, added: “We’re utterly heartbroken. Karen was the kindest, loveliest person.
“She was a devoted wife and mum who loved swimming, walking the dog in the Forest of Dean, and volunteered at a local charity shop. She was also a wonderful friend who lit up every room she entered.
“We were desperate for updates while watching Karen get worse - we’re devastated and struggling to understand how she went on holiday and never came home.”
Families of all six people are making personal injury claims for damages against Tui, the provider of many package holidays to the island country.
Jatinder Paul of Irwin Mitchell said: “The number of holidaymakers to Cape Verde being struck down with serious and debilitating gastric illnesses is truly staggering. Nothing brings the gravity of this situation into sharper focus than these recent deaths.
“In my experience I’m used to supporting holidaymakers who have fallen ill at resorts across the globe, but I’ve never seen repeated and continued illness outbreaks at the same resorts on such a scale over such a period of time.
“It’s almost incomprehensible that holidaymakers continue to describe the hygiene issues at these Cape Verde hotels year-after-year. Each case isn’t a statistic; it’s a human story of how lives have been turned upside down.
“Understandably, those we represent have serious concerns about hygiene standards in Cape Verde. While nothing can make up for what’s happened, we’re determined to at least help establish the answers they deserve.”