[ad_1]
A seemingly healthy British couple, who fell ill last month in a Red Sea resort, was reportedly exposed to high levels of E. coli and Staphylococci in their diet, according to results released on Wednesday. -operator that they used to book their holidays.
But travel company Thomas Cook said he did not believe that the tests, conducted by an independent hygiene expert and an air quality expert, "shed light on the still unexplained cause of death" of his clients , John Cooper, 69, and his wife Susan Cooper, age 64, on August 21st.
The sudden death has shaken Egypt's troubled tourism industry and prompted Thomas Cook, one of Britain's largest tour operators, to evacuate hundreds of its customers from the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in Hurghada. The company said the Egyptian government's autopsies could determine the cause of their deaths.
"These results clearly show that something went wrong in August at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in Hurghada and that standards have fallen below what we expect from our hotel partners," the company said in a statement. "It is likely that the presence of E. Coli and staphylococci would explain the high level of reported illness among hotel guests during this period, confirming Thomas Cook's decision to remove our 300 clients. "
Mr. Cooper, an English worker, and his wife, Thomas Cook's employee in Lancashire, traveled to Hurghada with their daughter Kelly Ormerod and three grandchildren.
Ms. Ormerod told Sky News that her parents appeared to be "in perfect health" when they went to bed on Monday, but that they were "extremely sick and in need of help" when they went to bed with them. found in their hotel room the next morning.
Her father died shortly after the ambulance arrived and her mother died after being taken to the hospital five hours later, Ormerod told Sky News.
"I saw them die before my eyes and they had exactly the same symptoms," Ms. Ormerod told the broadcaster. She said that she thought their deaths were "suspicious" and that something "happened in this room and caused them to be kidnapped".
Thomas Cook said he would offer compensation to guests who became ill after staying at the hotel and that they would stop booking trips to the resort "until further notice".
The company said its tests revealed air and water quality at the station, typical chlorine levels in its pools, and no evidence of carbon monoxide, high levels of carbon dioxide, or shigella , listeria or salmonella. The results were reviewed by Vanya Gant, a microbiology and infection specialist at University College London Hospitals.
E. coli is a diverse group of bacteria, some of which can cause diarrhea, urinary tract infections or respiratory Centers for Disaster Control and Prevention. He stated that staph is often harmless, but can cause conditions such as pneumonia or infections of the bloodstream, heart valves and bones.
Egyptian officials have argued that the couple died of natural causes. Egyptian Attorney General Nabil Sadek said last month that an inspection of Coopers' hotel room had revealed no evidence of toxic or harmful gas emissions or leaks. But Thomas Cook said on Wednesday that Egyptian officials had not allowed his independent investigators to examine the hotel room.
The death of the Coopers and the subsequent tourist evacuation have been a blow to the Egyptian tourism industry, a pillar of the country 's economy that has been beaten in recent years by the l'. political instability, violence and a series of air crashes. .
More than 14 million people visited Egypt in 2010, according to data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization, a figure that dropped to 5.3 million in 2016.
Mohamed Ezz contributed to the reportage of Cairo, Egypt
