Food contaminated by faeces is making tourists ill in Mexican holiday resorts - here’s everything you need to know

British holidaymakers visiting Mexico are being warned about a brutal bug that is ravaging resorts in the country.

Fourteen tourists staying at luxury hotels in the Riviera Maya resort and Cancun have experienced crippling stomach pains, sickness and diarrhoea due to an illness that is passed on through contaminated food.

The cause of the illness is the cyclospora cayetanensis parasite, which is transmitted by faeces coming into contact with water and food. This the fifth year in a row that the parasite has infected tourists in the region.

600 Brits affected since 2015

Nearly 600 British people have been infected with the bug since 2015, and the same areas of Mexico were the subject of a public health warning three years ago. Now medical experts are advising anyone who has visited the affected resorts and is feeling ill to seek medical attention.

Advice on the Health Protection Scotland website reads, "All travellers to Mexico are strongly advised to maintain a high standard of food, water and personal hygiene even if staying in luxury resorts.

"Infection is transmitted through consumption of contaminated food or water, direct person to person spread does not occur. Foods often implicated in outbreaks include soft fruits like raspberries and salad products such as coriander, basil and lettuce.

"On return from Mexico, if travellers have any symptoms such as those described above, they should seek medical attention."