Toddler placed into induced coma after contracting food poisoning at all-inclusive resort

A two-year-old girl was placed into an induced coma after suffering a blood clot following a severe bout of food poisoning at an all-inclusive holiday resort. Little Chloe Crook and her parents visited the five-star Jaz Aquaviva resort in Hurghada, Egypt, in July.

However, a few days after the family arrived, she began to have a variety of gastric symptoms, including bloody diarrhoea, vomiting, fatigue, and stomach pains. The tot was raced to hospital, where she temporarily went blind and became nonverbal before bruising began to appear under the skin on her head, the Mirror reports.

Chloe's kidneys were not functioning correctly, so she received emergency dialysis while semi-sedated. Further tests revealed that Chloe had Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome (HUS), which is a potentially fatal blood condition that’s linked to the E. coli bacteria, which can also lead to brain damage.

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When the family returned to the UK, the youngster was placed in a coma for four days before she developed pneumonia and blood clots in her neck and arm. Chloe's mother, Megan, 34, stated that since the toddler was discharged from the hospital, she has become a ‘totally different girl’ and now needs help to move around and has ‘nightmares’ that stem from the awful experience she endured.

She said: “She used to be very social and loved going to nursery, but now she shies away from interacting with people outside her immediate circle. She’s also started having nightmares about being in hospital; waking up screaming and shouting “no,” repeatedly and it’s horrible to see how affected she is.

Megan added that her daughter was "traumatised" by the experience, with the whole family finding it incredibly difficult to "come to terms with what’s happened". Along with Chloe’s Dad Alex, 40, Megan has instructed "serious injury lawyers at legal firm Irwin Mitchell to investigate their daughter’s illness".

Jennifer Hodgson, a lawyer from the firm, said: “The family’s holiday turned into nothing short of a nightmare after Chloe fell ill. They understandably have many questions and concerns over how she went on to develop E. coli, and the subsequent complications as a result of developing HUS.

“E. coli is extremely serious and can result in long-term health problems, which is potentially the case with Chloe. If, during the course of our investigations, any issues are identified, action needs to be taken to reduce the risk of other holidaymakers falling ill in the future."

She said: “When we were in Egypt, she was in so much pain and was only given paracetamol as relief. The standard of care was nowhere near what we would have expected, and we kept being told that Chloe had gastroenteritis.

"We had to push for more tests to be done, as we knew there was something very wrong with our daughter. It was so distressing for Alex and me to see her like that and know that we couldn’t do anything; we felt completely helpless.

She added: “To find out that it was E. coli and HUS was a huge shock to us. We have read reports on tragic cases of this where children have been brain damaged or lost their life due to this horrific illness and we were terrified.

Megan said that learning that Chloe was' suffering an acute kidney injury' and required to be placed in an induced coma due to seizures was 'horrifying'. Chloe is still on anti-seizure medicine, blood thinners, and other prescriptions nearly four months after the trip, which was booked through travel operator TUI, and will require annual check-ups for her kidney function.

Jaz Aquaviva Resort was contacted for comment.

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