It was reading week (the Canadian equivalent to spring break) a few weeks ago, and through my Facebook creeping I saw that many of my friends traveled south for vacation. Nothing quite evaporates the stress of midterm exams like tanning and over-consuming alcohol.   

Unfortunately for dozens of vacationers at a Cape Verde island resort, fun in the sun was accompanied with stomach cramps and diarrhea, reports the Yorkshire Evening Post.

A group of 40 sunseekers want compensation after a stay at the Riu Garopa and Riu Funana hotels on the Cape Verde islands, off the west African coast, left them seriously ill. A further 70 people who were also affected have sought legal advice. Solicitors at Irwin Mitchell say calls are still coming in and they expect the number of complaints to hit 200.

Some guests who were there between August and October last year claim food at the hotels was undercooked, uneaten meals were re-served, and food was often left uncovered and unprotected from insects.

One of the sick vacationers, Barry Taylor, who stayed at the Riu Garopa in September with his wife, said,

"I’ve never experienced illness like this before. It was horrendous. It ruined our holiday and we’re still suffering from some of the symptoms today, more than four months after the trip.”

He continued,

"The standards at the Garopa were disgraceful. There was a smell of sewage hanging around the place and there were huge cockroaches everywhere – in the dining room, the bedrooms, down the corridors. My wife managed to get into the town to get medication that a doctor prescribed but because there was so many people ill they had run out."

The cause of illness is believed to be Shigella, often contracted through consumption of contaminated food or water. Fecally contaminated water and unsanitary handling by food handlers are the most common causes of contamination with Shigella. In the past salads (potato, tuna, macaroni), raw vegetables, dairy products and poultry have been implicated as vectors for illness.