Their families have questioned whether Cape Verde was safe for them to visit given its quality of healthcare, which the Foreign Office calls “very basic and limited”. Government officials in Cape Verde have held emergency talks with hotels and are investigating “standing water sources” and pest control action. Little did they know that Cape Verde was in the midst of an outbreak of a contagious pathogen that would leave holidaymakers severely unwell. The UK Health Security Agency recorded 137 cases between October and December — 80 per cent of patients had recently returned from Cape Verde. Jatinder Paul, a lawyer representing the claimants, described the repeated sickness of tourists in Cape Verde as “nothing short of a scandal”.

Source: The Times February 01, 2026 13:34 UTC