{"id":169868,"date":"2025-06-09T09:15:13","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T09:15:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/169868\/"},"modified":"2025-06-09T09:15:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T09:15:13","slug":"dad-nearly-died-after-contracting-disease-while-staying-in-turkey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/169868\/","title":{"rendered":"Dad nearly died after contracting disease while staying in Turkey"},"content":{"rendered":"

Richard had flu-like symptoms when he came home and had to be placed into a coma\"RichardRichard Moore in hospital after returning from his four-star break(Image: Irwin Mitchell \/ SWNS )<\/p>\n

A dad-of-two says he nearly died after contracting a rare disease from a ‘dirty’ 4-star hotel while on a sunshine break in Turkey. Richard Moore, 55, began suffering from a fever and chest pains after returning from a five-day holiday with partner Julie, 50.<\/p>\n

The chef became so ill he was rushed to hospital and placed in an induced coma and his wife and kids told he may not survive. Doctors confirmed he was suffering from potentially deadly Legionnaires’ disease and he needed five days of hospital treatment, antibiotics and an IV drip.<\/p>\n

Richard, of Blyth<\/a>, Northumberland<\/a>, said: \u201cThis holiday was meant to be a short break before I started a new job as an executive chef. Instead, it cost me my dream job, my health and very nearly my life. As a result of the memory loss, I can\u2019t recall much of my time in hospital, but when I was admitted, I remember the fear and not knowing what was wrong.<\/p>\n

\"RichardRichard Moore in hospital with children Jamie and Lily<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m lucky to be alive but it\u2019s so upsetting to think my family were told I might not live. I never realised Legionnaires\u2019 disease was so serious and I want to tell my story to make other people aware of the symptoms and the dangers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t want to think that other people were going off on a holiday unaware of what they could be walking into. If there are issues with the hotel then that needs looking at urgently.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel fortunate to have pulled through. However, I do worry that someone else might not be as lucky as I was.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"RichardRichard Moore in hospital in the UK<\/p>\n

Richard and his family paid \u00a32,000 to stay at the four-star hotel. After arriving at the hotel on August 18 last year, Richard said he thought the hotel was dirty, old and dated.<\/p>\n

He also noticed that the room felt damp and had grim fusty smell. He said: “I can\u2019t specifically pinpoint to one thing but the water temperature fluctuated a lot in the shower. The bathroom and hotel generally looked run down and the sofa in hotel room beneath the air con felt damp throughout the holiday which made me think it was leaking.”<\/p>\n

Days after returning to the UK, Richard\u2019s began suffering from flu-like symptoms. On August 30 he developed chest pains, shortness of breath and a fever and was admitted to hospital.<\/p>\n

\"RichardRichard Moore in hospital<\/p>\n

He spent a month in hospital and has been unable to start a new job as an executive chef that he was due to commence. Richard still continues to struggle with lethargy, weakness and mobility issues linked to Legionnaires\u2019 disease.<\/p>\n

He has now instructed travel illness lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the cause of his Legionnaires’ disease. Jennifer Hodgson, representing Richard, said: \u201cRichard\u2019s first-hand account of his experience at the hotel and contracting his illness is deeply disturbing.<\/p>\n

\u201cLegionnaires\u2019 disease is an incredibly serious condition, and it can take several days from coming into contact with Legionella bacteria before symptoms of the illness start to appear. As Richard has since discovered, the effects of the disease can be long-term.<\/p>\n

\"RichardRichard Moore with partner Julie<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing can make up for the impact the illness has had and continues to have on Richard, but we\u2019re determined to provide him with the answers and specialist support he deserves. Public buildings, such as hotels and offices, can have complex water systems, so it\u2019s vital that all precautions are taken to prevent the bacteria that causes Legionnaires\u2019 disease developing.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs part of our work and to assist with our investigations, we would be keen to hear from anyone else who may also have been affected by illness.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Richard had flu-like symptoms when he came home and had to be placed into a comaRichard Moore in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":169869,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[105,183,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-169868","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-travel","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114652651660495751","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169868"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169868\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}