EasyJet holidays has temporarily taken a Crete hotel off sale after a British woman staying there fell ill with Legionnaires’ disease earlier this month.
Donna Jobling, 57, from Hull, is in intensive care in Venizeleio Hospital in Heraklion, after becoming ill at the hotel on 5 June.
She has been in an induced coma since 11 June and tests showed she had contracted Legionnaires’ disease brought on by Legionella pneumophila, according to her niece Claire, who has set up a Gofundme fundraiser.
Legionnaires’ disease is a lung infection that can be caught by inhaling droplets of water containing tiny bacteria, from places such as air conditioning, hot tubs or showers.
There’s no confirmation that the hotel is the source of the infection, but easyJet holidays, the operator that Donna’s package was booked with, has temporarily removed it from sale for the next four weeks.
The hotel, which has not been publicly named, is working with local health authorities, while the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDPC) and Greece’s Ministry of Health have ordered ‘intensified water tests in hotel units throughout Crete’.
The ECDPC said: “The Legionella bacterium entered the British woman’s system at the beginning of her holiday in a hotel on the Peninsula and had the incubation period needed to manifest itself.”
EasyJet holidays said: “We’re so sorry to hear that Ms Jobling is unwell, and we’re continuing to support her and her family in every way we can.
“As soon as we were made aware of reports of illness, we immediately took action and contacted customers who were already staying in the hotel, or due to travel in the next four weeks, to provide alternative hotel options. We’ve also been in touch with customers who recently returned home from this hotel, to inform them of necessary guidance.
“Our customers’ safety and wellbeing is our top priority, and we’ll continue to do all we can to support them.”
Main picture: Heraklion. Inset: Donna Jobling, from the Gofundme page.
