Holiday Complaints and Holiday Illness Glossary
HolidayTravelWatch have compiled a list of the most common holiday illnesses, holiday diseases and those terms that apply to holiday complaints. We regularly add to this glossary, but we welcome any additions that you feel may help our site visitors. Please contact us if you wish to add to the glossary.
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76. Sick Aircraft Syndrome
This is the serious condition resulting from exposure to neurotoxins or other toxins within the confines of an aircraft cabin or cockpit. It can lead to serious neurological problems and complete debilitation!
77. Significant Change
This expression refers to the Travel Consumer pre-departure rights under Regulations 12 & 13 of The package Travel Regulations. Significant Changes occur usually when some aspect to the holiday is radically changed, for example, a change of hotel, overbooking of a hotel, a change of resort, closure of facilities, a change in a ship's or tour's itinerary, natural or man made disaster's affecting a destination, outbreak's of illness at a hotel, resort or on board a ship, a radical change to the price etc! Whilst the definition only refers to pricing as an example to an 'essential' term of the contract, it is generally accepted that important changes to a holiday contract are also considered as Significant Changes. Remember, this is one of the most common complaints and is an area that is receiving the attention of the EU Commission!
78. Small Claims Court
This is the lowest Civil Court in the UK. It provides for a low cost access to justice and limits the value of cases before it; £1000 for personal injury claims, £5000 for contractual claims.
79. Small Round Structured Virus
Norwalk and Norwalk-like viruses are found in the gastrointestinal tract and readily spread from person-to-person. Environmental contamination is common, and spread can occur from food (molluscs in particular) and water. Sometimes referred to as ‘winter vomiting disease’, they are the leading cause of outbreaks of gastroenteritis in the UK. Characterised by diarrhoea and vomiting (often projectile) with sudden onset following an incubation period of 24–48 h. Highly contagious.
80. Solicitors Code of Conduct
This is Code by which all solicitors must operate under and is created by The Law Society and monitored by The Solicitors Regulatory Authority.
81. Solicitors Regulatory Authority
The Body that monitors the conduct of solicitors in England & Wales.
82. Specific Performance (Contract Law)
This is an equitable remedy of the court. This is where the court will order a party to the contract to do what they have agreed to do under the contract.
83. Staphylococcus Aureus
Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium that is a common coloniser of human skin and mucosa. Staphylococcus aureus can cause disease, particularly if there is an opportunity for the bacteria to enter the body. Illnesses such as skin and wound infections, urinary tract infections, pneumonia and bacteraemia (blood stream infection) may then develop. It can also cause food poisoning. Most strains of this bacterium are sensitive to many antibiotics, and infections can be effectively treated. Some S. aureus bacteria are resistant to the antibiotic methicillin, termed methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
84. Traveller’s Diarrhoea
Travellers' diarrhoea (TD) is a syndrome which may be caused by one or more of several different organisms; the most common being ETEC (enterotoxigenic E.coli). Other organisms associated with gastrointestinal illness include Campylobacter spp, Salmonella spp, some viruses (Norovirus) and protozoa ( Cryptosporidium spp and Giardia spp being the main ones). Dysentery and cholera are also less common causes of diarrhoea in travellers. Several studies have estimated the incidence of TD to be between 30 - 50% in those travelling from a developed country to a developing country. It can sometimes depend on the prevalence in each individual country. It is worth noting that many more people in the local population of developing countries, particularly children, suffer more serious consequences even death from diarrhoeal disease. According to figures from the World Health Organization, two million children die each year in developing countries from diarrhoeal diseases. Gastrointestinal illness for most travellers is a non-serious, self-limiting illness, however the person suffering from it can feel very ill indeed and it can certainly be distressing enough to ruin a holiday or business trip.
85. Typhoid
Typhoid, sometimes known as enteric fever, is a disease caused by the bacterium Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi. Classic typhoid fever is a serious disease. It can be life-threatening unless treated promptly with antibiotics. The disease lasts several weeks and convalescence takes some time. Typhoid varies in severity, but nearly all patients experience fever and headache. The incubation period is usually 7-14 days, but can be shorter or longer depending upon how many bacteria are ingested. Symptoms include sustained fever (39°C to 40°C), headache, stomach pains, loss of appetite and nausea. In some cases, patients have a rash of flat, rose-colored spots. Typhoid is almost exclusively acquired abroad through the ingestion of heavily contaminated food and water. Typhoid bacteria are passed in the faeces and urine of infected people. People become infected by eating food or drinking beverages that have been handled by an infected person, or by drinking water that has been contaminated by sewage containing the bacteria. Good hygiene and proper sanitation prevent the spread of typhoid.
86. Uberrimae Fides (Contract Law)
This means ‘of the utmost good faith’. This means that a party to a contract is under a duty to disclose all relevant information.
87. Undue Influence (Contract Law)
This is where someone is forced into making a contract through pressurising, or influencing them in a way that they do not make a free choice to enter into the contract.
88. Unfair Contract Terms Act
This Act of Parliament provides rights to contracting parties against the unfairness of a clause in a contract.
89. Verotoxin-producing Escherichia Coli
Verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) are found in the intestines of cattle, and thus the commonest sources of infection are consumption of contaminated foodstuffs and direct or indirect contact with animals (usually bovines) or their by-products. Undercooked beef (in particular, mince) or milk have been implicated, but other products have also become contaminated (apple juice, water, cheese etc.). There is a significant risk of person-to-person spread within households and institutions. The best known is E-Coli O157
90. Void Contracts
Such a contract has no legal effect and as such, no property can be passed to the other party under the contract.
HTW has noted that amongst the submissions to the Committee on Toxicity (COT) it has been suggested that the symptoms highlighted by crew and passengers were akin to the condition of hyperventilation.
HTW has for many years received reports from concerned holiday makers or independent travellers as to the safety of their aircraft, ship or boat, train or road transport.
