Sixty European Tourists Fell Sick at Tobago Hotel

Sixty European tourists, mainly British nationals, fell ill with gastroenteritis at a hotel in Tobago and health authorities are considering closing its kitchen, a senior medical official said last week.

“We’re still awaiting the lab results on what caused the outbreak. We will decide later today on whether the kitchen should be shut down,” said Trinidad and Tobago Medical Officer of Health Dr. Mentor Melville. “But whatever way it goes, at some point the hotel needs to restructure their kitchen.”

The tourists at the Turtle Beach Hotel on the Caribbean island northeast of Trinidad began getting sick on Sunday and as of Wednesday several more complained about suffering from diarrhea and vomiting. No one was taken to hospital.

On Wednesday night, Melville and his medical team monitored the preparation of food in the hotel’s kitchen, which he said had been blamed for at least three other outbreaks of gastroenteritis in recent years.