Dozens of holidaymakers across Europe, including at least 48 Brits, are alleged to have picked up the potentially lethal stomach bug Shigella when staying at Cape Verde hotels.

And the European Centre of Disease Prevention and Controls said the number of infections is expected to increase now more people will be travelling over the winter.

According to Food Safety News, cases have been reported in the Netherlands, France, Germany, Denmark and Portugal, as well as the UK.

In all but one of the cases, the afflicted had recently returned from Cape Verde.

The UK has reported the highest number of cases, with the majority occurring since September this year, followed by France with nine, while Denmark and Germany have reported two each and Portugal one. A dozen of those who fell sick had stayed in different hotels belonging to the same chain, on the same Cape Verde island.

The ECDC said there is still no official information on the source of the infection, according to Food Safety News, but a travel litigation lawyer says that since most of the sick travellers had only eaten at the all-inclusive hotels where they were saying, it raised concerns over hygiene and cleanliness standards.

Anne Thomson, Litigation Executive at UK-based law firm Hudgell Solicitor, told the publication that ‘authorities need to carry out investigations in order to contain the further spread as well as prevent similar problems from occurring’.

Forty-six British holidaymakers have instructed no-win no-fee law firm Irwin Mitchell to investigate after claiming they came down with stomach bugs in Cape Verde. They had all stayed at sister hotels Sol Dunas and Melia Dunas on the island of Sal this summer on packages booked with TUI.

The same law firm has also more recently begun looking into the case of 80 British holidaymakers who say they picked up stomach bugs while staying at the Hotel Rui Palace, Santa Maria, also in Sal.