Crete hotel removed from sale over Legionnaires' disease fears
The hotel has not been officially named but it was understood officials were working with local health authorities on the island.While it was not confirmed that the hotel was the source of the infection, easyJet said as a precaution customers were moved out and have been provided alternative hotel accommodation. Ms Jobling developed a chest infection on 5 June which triggered acute respiratory failure and pneumonia.She was taken to an intensive care unit at Venizeleio Hospital in Heraklion six days later according to her family.
What is Legionnaires' disease?
Legionnaires' disease is a serious lung infection transmitted by inhaling droplets of infected water.It is not usually contracted by drinking contaminated water and people can become infected when taking a shower, flushing a toilet or from an air conditioning system.Initial symptoms can be confused with influenza and, according to the NHS, include a cough, shortness of breath, chest pains and a high temperature.Those who catch Legionnaires' disease are treated with antibiotics. Most make a full recovery but it can take weeks for people to get back to normal.
Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Are YOUR dizzy spells being caused by hidden nervous system problems that GPs often fail to spot... and could the cure be a 30p pill?
For more than 20 years, mother-of-two Kerry Clayton endured dizzy spells, fainting and constant light-headedness – only to have her concerns repeatedly dismissed by doctors. Her symptoms first appeared in her teens when she fainted during an exam. At the time, it was put down to stress. But the episodes kept happening – at work, in busy crowds – until they became, as she puts it, 'part of everyday life'.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
'Forever toxins' found in everything from cosmetics to waterproof clothing linked to weight struggle
Toxins found in everything from cosmetics to waterproof clothing could hinder weight loss, a study has shown. Researchers have discovered that levels of so-called 'forever' chemicals in the blood may, in the long term, lead to people piling the pounds back on after shedding them. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are in hundreds of everyday products because of their durability. But last year a review of 500 studies found they were linked to 'serious health implications', including weakening the immune system and cancer. The Government is set to receive recommendations from a panel of experts later this year on how levels of PFAS can be reduced. Now researchers say the chemicals may also affect the body's metabolic process – which is how it converts food into nutrients. In the study, published in the Journal Of Obesity this week, researchers assessed 186 teenagers who had bariatric surgery – which works by making the stomach smaller and the patient feel fuller quicker. After the surgery, patients are at risk of slowly putting weight back on, and the researchers found people with high levels of PFAS were at a greater risk. They tested the participants' blood for levels of PFAS before the surgery and found that those with the highest levels of the chemicals put on twice as much weight in the five years after the surgery compared to those with the lowest levels. 'With the growing use of weight loss interventions around the world, it's critical for us to understand the association between PFAS and successful weight loss management, including what this means for long-term outcomes,' said Dr Brittney Baumert, a researcher at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine who led the study. 'PFAS are a modifiable risk, which is why protective policies are so important to reduce exposure and safeguard public health – especially for vulnerable populations.' Experts say that while their research looked specifically at bariatric surgery, the findings may also be relevant for people on fat jabs. 'We're also interested in exploring whether PFAS exposure is relevant to other weight loss interventions, including GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic,' said Dr Baumert.
Times
3 hours ago
- Times
Disabled by a drug, ignored by ministers, these children are abandoned
Catherine McNamara had to carry her son, Sebastian, in her arms for years. He was born with a curved spine and deformed limbs, making each step difficult. His disabilities were caused by sodium valproate, an anti-epilepsy drug she took while pregnant. It also left him with numerous learning difficulties. In 2022, McNamara told The Sunday Times how every day was a struggle: 'I'm not able to invest in myself, a career. I can't buy a house. Just to meet everyday expenses is difficult because I can't go out and get a job.' Like thousands of mothers with valproate-affected children she wanted help for hers and to know they would get the care they needed throughout their life. Three years on there has been silence from the government over whether it will compensate families harmed by valproate, a drug given to women for decades despite known risks that it could damage their unborn babies. England's patient safety commissioner, Dr Henrietta Hughes, submitted a detailed report to ministers on how a compensation scheme could work 18 months ago. It, too, has been met with silence. In the meantime, Sebastian's condition has worsened significantly but he is now 13 and too tall and heavy for McNamara, 48, to lift. A short walk to the park leaves him in agony; a longer journey requires a wheelchair. 'As he grows the curvature of his spine causes him pain in his legs and his back,' McNamara said. Her daughters Sofia, 20, and Alex, 24, were also disabled by valproate. Sofia rarely leaves her room. Alex has autism. Hughes has demanded action on her report. 'It should not take the government this long to respond. Every day's delay intensifies the harm caused to these patients who have been harmed by the healthcare system,' she said. Calls for compensation have also been backed by MPs from across the Commons. More than 100 parliamentary questions have been submitted on the topic since Hughes's report. Janet Williams, from the Infact campaign group for valproate families, said the delays were causing 'serious anxiety and frustration'. She said: 'It's got to be resolved urgently, without delay, to stop this suffering. In the long term it would definitely save the government money as families could put in place care for their children to avoid them being institutionalised in the future when they are no longer around. 'This is the nightmare many of the parents worry about.' Sodium valproate was first licensed for use in the UK in 1972 to treat epilepsy. Sold as Epilim by the pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, it is also used to treat bipolar disorder and migraines. No one should stop taking the drug without first speaking to their doctor. Epilepsy is a serious condition, and valproate offered enormous potential to curb seizures, including in patients who had proven resistant to other drugs. The Committee on Safety of Medicines met repeatedly to discuss valproate and, according to minutes of its meetings, was alerted to potential risks by Sanofi early in the drug approval process. The committee concluded the use of anti-seizure drugs were 'liable to produce' abnormalities but 'the risk appears to be low, and not sufficient to justify stopping the use' of sodium valproate. The committee, established after the thalidomide scandal, decided not to warn the public for fear of causing 'fruitless anxiety'. Sodium valproate became a first-choice drug for epilepsy as mothers were repeatedly told it was safe. However, it targets the developing foetus in the womb. About 10 per cent of exposed babies will be physically deformed and 40 per cent will have learning disabilities, autism and developmental delays. As evidence began to emerge in the 1980s and 1990s, regulators were slow to act and it was only downgraded as a first-line treatment for women of childbearing age in 2004 — but children continued to be born disabled and mothers continued to be denied the truth. A generation of valproate children have been left disabled and needing lifelong care. It is a scandal experts have dubbed worse than thalidomide, the morning sickness pill given to mothers in the 1960s that left thousands of babies deformed. In 2018 Jeremy Hunt, then the health secretary, commissioned Baroness Cumberlege to examine sodium valproate and two other health scandals. She produced a report in July 2020 that found patients had been 'dismissed, overlooked and ignored' in some cases for decades. While the Conservative government at the time accepted some of the recommendations, it rejected the idea of compensating families. But in 2022, after The Sunday Times reporting, Hunt — by then chairman of the health select committee — said the valproate scandal was 'the most egregious injustice' and it was time 'the British state faced up to its responsibilities'. Ministers asked Hughes to examine the idea of redress and how it could work. Her report, published in February last year, said the state had failed pregnant women by denying them key information and said compensation should begin to be paid by this year. She designed a two-stage process — a first interim payment followed by a more detailed assessment of each patient's individual needs. She did not set an amount, but in her report patients suggested £100,000 for valproate. The law was changed to prevent women being given the drug in plain white packets without warnings and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency launched a crackdown, requiring two specialist doctors to sign off any prescriptions of the drug to those under 55. Prescriptions have been falling, but 357 women were prescribed the drug during pregnancy since 2018 and in the six months to September last year 11 babies were exposed to it. Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has posed for pictures with valproate campaigners and praised their efforts. But the Labour government has yet to respond to Hughes's report, saying only that it is working on the proposals and will respond at the 'earliest opportunity'. This has been repeated in letters, parliamentary answers and statements for almost 18 months. Sharon Hodgson, the Labour MP for Washington & Gateshead South and chair of the all-party parliamentary group for valproate and other anti-epileptic drugs in pregnancy, said: 'The government has had long enough. They could at least say in principle that they are going to do this but they need a little more time. That would at least mean families don't have to be in constant battle mode to fight to get compensation over the line. But the government hasn't even said that.' She said parents were terrified of the future for their children and that acting now would save the state money. 'But it's also the right thing to do,' she added. John Glen, the Conservative MP and former paymaster general, said: 'Henrietta Hughes's report was very clear about the need for the principle of compensation to be recognised and addressed. It seems to me only appropriate and necessary for the government to acknowledge unambiguously that compensation is due. Then we can move forward to work out what is proportionate and reasonable in the circumstances of what's happened. 'There's a lot of suffering going on here and I'm dismayed by the lateness of any meaningful response. It's just not good enough.' While ministers delay, the sodium valproate children continue to suffer. Jane and Philip Spencer's daughters Lucy, 18, and Isobel, 16, are disabled because of valproate. Lucy was born with a missing toe and fibula bone. After a year she had a lower limb amputation as her leg was never going to develop properly. But the family have only a small square shower cubicle for her and she cannot be left alone. After a referral by the NHS the family have been on a waiting list with Tameside council in Greater Manchester for more than two years. Work was approved but nothing has happened to create a dedicated room that would allow both girls to shower while sitting. Mrs Spencer said: 'I have to stand with Lucy and hold her. Cognitively both girls are around the age of six. If we had been able to have an interim payment we could just get on and do it and it would take the pressure off the council.' The family may have to move out of their home in an effort to find something more suitable. Mrs Spencer was never told about the dangers of valproate. She said: 'Sometimes you think about what your family life might have been. It's very difficult. 'The government has been given enough evidence. They supported the campaign in opposition. I voted for Labour because of the support that I saw them giving.' Branwen Mann, 29, was diagnosed with foetal valproate spectrum disorder, along with her sister Rhonnie, 30, from Watford. Their mother took 5,000mg a day while pregnant, and both girls were left severely disabled. Branwen Mann has difficulties walking long distances, autism, problems with her vision and dissociative seizures. She has had to have an ovarian cyst removed — a common complication for valproate victims. She is also waiting for operations on her ears and eyes. She uses YouTube to document her struggles and this year posted a tearful update on the fifth anniversary of the Cumberlege inquiry report. She said: 'I personally feel let down by everybody … by the government, by all the officials. People are just starting to give up.' She said government apologies were insincere: 'It doesn't do anything, it doesn't fix my health. I just feel completely let down by everyone. It doesn't mean that I'm going to stop fighting, it just makes me want to shout even louder.' NHS England said: 'The NHS continues to work closely with providers and regulators to reduce the use of valproate in women who could become pregnant, and good progress has been made, with prescriptions of valproate during pregnancy down by almost 85 per cent since 2018.' The Department of Health and Social Care declined to answer any questions about the delays or commit to the principle of paying families compensation. In a statement, a spokesman said: 'The harm caused by sodium valproate continues to be felt today. Our sympathies are with those affected and we are fully focused on how best to support patients and prevent future harm. 'This is a complex area of work and the government is carefully considering the patient safety commissioner's recommendations in full.'
