Heart disease

Some people who fall ill will suffer more than others

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued an alert to certain holidaymakers, with some told to avoid particular areas while abroad. It comes as cases of a rare disease have jumped up, as per the most recent figures.

UKHSA said in a post on X, formerly Twitter: “Are you, or someone you know, heading off on a tropical trip? It’s worth being aware of chikungunya, a mosquito-borne virus that can cause severe joint pain. Check out our blog post to learn how to stay protected.”

Further information within the blog explains that there were 112 confirmed and probable cases of chikungunya reported among travellers returning to England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2024 – almost one and a half times the number reported in 2023. UKHSA added: “Travel to India accounted for the majority of these cases, followed by travel to Pakistan and Brazil – all popular destinations for people travelling from the UK”.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), between January 2025 and September 2025, chikungunya was responsible for 40 deaths in Europe, as well as some 115 deaths in the Americas. There are currently no targeted treatments available for chikungunya, so preventing mosquito bites is essential.

Recommended precautions include using repellent containing DEET or picaridin to exposed skin, and wearing loose-fitting and light-coloured clothing to cover your arms and legs. Mosquitoes breed in standing water around human habitation.

UKHSA is urging travellers to avoid “areas with natural and artificial water containers” to help reduce their risk of exposure. UKHSA guidance adds: “Unlike some mosquito species that prefer rural areas, Aedes mosquitoes thrive in urban environments and often bite indoors, making hotel room precautions equally important.”

Chikungunya symptoms

First symptoms are usually a high fever and severe joint pain, often worse in the small joints or where there have been previous injuries. Many who contract the virus also experience muscle pain, headaches, sensitivity to light, and skin rashes.

Most people make a full recovery within a fortnight, though the joint pain can persist for months or even years in some cases. Around one in every 1,000 people with the virus experience serious complications.

Young babies, elderly people, and those with underlying health conditions are more at risk of serious complications. UKHSA adds: “Occasional complications affecting the eyes, nervous system, heart, and digestive system have been reported.”

Before any overseas travel it is vital to check Foreign Office information, including any health precautions that need to be taken, here

Ricky Gervais today marked the 25th anniversary of the hit BBC sitcom with a countdown of his favourite 25 David Brent moments.

Ricky Gervais has crowned David Brent’s dance his favourite moment of The Office – but admitted it could have left him needing hospital treatment.

The co-creator of the show, along with Stephen Merchant, has marked the 25th anniversary of the hit BBC sitcom with a countdown of his favourite 25 David Brent moments.

In a specially curated retrospective on his YouTube channel Gervais had a training role play scene, Brent’s song Freelove Freeway and the dance by Brent as his top three.

Speaking about the crazy dance and how the scene was made, Gervais revealed: “It probably is the most famous single thing I’ve ever done, and when we had to do that, that’s three takes cut together, the first time they laughed, the second time I laughed, and then the third one we got to the end, and and then just cut it together in the edit using people looking like bewildered, but it sort of looked like one take.

“I sort of knew the type of thing I was gonna do. It’s totally improvised, obviously. I quite like the fact that it looked nearly real. Some of them looked a bit like dance moves, and I can’t believe how low I got when I did the crab, I couldn’t do that now.”

And anymore takes might have been dangerous. He added: “I remember after I filmed it, I was sat in a corner on a chair and they were fanning me.

“I was, I think I was the blobbiest I’ve ever been. I think I was like 14 stone, no muscles to speak of, just a blob, and you know, there was a small chance of heart failure.

“So, I think people were genuinely worried the way I was breathing afterwards. Tom Cruise jumps off buildings. Do I want to do a little dance? I’ll have go. It would f***ing kill me now. I’m glad I recorded it to show I did it once.”

The Gervais special is not the only celebration of the show, as the BBC also aired a programme called Remember… The Office.

On the second show Martin Freeman and Mackenzie Crook reflected on their time on the TV show. The pair spoke about how some of the scenes features small bits of improvisation which helped make them even more magical.

Freeman said: “The writing on it that they did was brilliant. But you only need to know us a little bit or know the process of it. We’re also in there, you know? It doesn’t mean it’s a co-credit. Doesn’t mean it’s improvised, but it’s nicely loose.”

Freeman, who played Tim, also said he had a good feeling about the show from the beginning.

He explained: “At the read-through, I remember thinking, ‘This script is really good, it’s brilliant’.”Despite huge success The Office was just two series long along with several Christmas specials. It inspired the award-winning US version, which ran for nine ­seasons

* The full countdown of David Brent moments is available to watch on Ricky Gervais’ YouTube channel.

The farmer was visibly upset, breaking into tears, when Jeremy Clarkson announced his cancer diagnosis in the latest episodes of the TV show Clarkson’s Farm

Jeremy Clarkson’s devastating cancer diagnosis left farm manager Kaleb Cooper in tears.

The 66-year-old shared the news in the final episodes of his series Clarkson’s Farm, as he sat down to chat with Kaleb Cooper and Charlie Ireland.

“I’ve got cancer,” Clarkson said during a conversation about the farm’s harvest.

Kaleb replied, “No, you haven’t. Where?”

The former Top Gear host has continued: “Where it is, is of no concern of anybody. I’ve known since May.”

“I had a medical, you remember back in May? I disappeared off the other week and I had a biopsy and it is cancer and it’s aggressive, but it’s really early so the treatment will be, you know…

“I was praying we could get the harvest done and then I could go and get some treatment but it’s going to be slap bang in the middle.”

Kaleb, wiping away tears, then said, “Look after yourself, you go and do… if you need anything just ring.”

Later in the show, Clarkson spoke about how the year had been challenging while talking to Kaleb, his girlfriend Lisa, and his two other employees.

“We started the year and I had coronary heart disease and ended it with me with cancer,” he explained.

“We can dwell as much as we like on all the bad things that have happened on the farm, but I think it’s better now, at the end of the year, to focus on things that have happened that are good.”

Kaleb asked, “When will we know the treatments worked?”

In response to Kaleb’s tears, the Who Wants to be a Millionaire host jests at him to “cheer up”.

“Not for another few weeks. Come on cheer up, it probably did work.”

The emotional episode has now been added to Prime Video.

Ahead of the episodes the TV star warned fans that they may be “a difficult watch”.

He posted on Instagram: “Ordinarily we try to keep the show bucolic and charming and cheerful. But the final two episodes which drop in the middle of the night tonight are none of those things really.”

In the clip, he took a deep breath and added: “They’re a difficult watch. They’re really, really difficult.”

After he announces the news to the farmers, Clarkson is later seen in a hospital bed set to undergo surgery.

However, Clarkson appears to maintain a positive attitude as he says he hopes to be back for a sixth season, before joking that if the treatment isn’t successful ‘take care everyone’.

The Foreign Office has updated its travel advice for Brits to a number of destinations as a new Ebola outbreak has been declared in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The Foreign Office has updated its travel advice for a number of countries after an Ebola outbreak earlier this month in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

On May 15, the country’s Ministry of Health confirmed an outbreak of Ebola Bundibugyo in the North-Eastern Ituri Province, while cases have also been confirmed in Uganda. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has since declared Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

As a result, a number of destinations to introduce stricter measures for travellers from health screenings for foreign nationals to quarantine for residents in certain cases.

For example, Kenya has introduced enhanced health screenings for passengers arriving from Uganda, Ethiopia, and DRC, while Tanzania has also introduced increase public health measures for incoming travellers.

Now the Foreign Office has updated its travel advice for Uganda, Angola and the Central African Republic, with warnings around new health screenings and entry requirements for anyone travelling to those destinations.

In its Angola advice, it warns: “On 15 May the Democratic Republic of Congo Ministry of Health announced an outbreak of Ebola Bundibugyo in the North-Eastern Ituri Province. Read more about the Ebola outbreak on TravelHealth Pro and see information on Ebola and similar diseases. World Health Organisation (WHO) have declared this a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

Due to the outbreak, you may experience heightened health screening at international borders in the region. Check entry requirements for the country you’re travelling to or transiting.”

The Foreign Office has already been advising “against all travel to parts of Central African Republic” before the Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda, but has updated its advice due to the country sharing a border with the DRC.

Virginia Messina, Group CEO of African Travel and Tourism Association (ATTA), said: “Established protocols are in place within countries bordering the DRC and as a result tourism operations and business trips across the wider African continent continue normally. As of 27 May, no other cases have been detected outside of Uganda and DRC. The risk to travellers on standard itineraries outside affected areas remains very low, and it’s important to highlight that Ebola is not easily transmitted through casual contact.

“However, travel rules and screening measures may change quickly. The WHO (World Health Organisation) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) are scaling up efforts to contain the virus but continue to advise against blanket travel restrictions and neither the UK, nor any European country has introduced entry bans.”

A holiday in Lanzarote turned into a nightmare for the family after John suffered a heart attack – and then they had issues when trying to get their sons home

A father of two was on holiday with his family when he suffered a heart attack, but faced turmoil when trying to fly their children home.

John Evans, 61, from Cardiff, Wales, had been on holiday with his wife, Annette, and their two children, aged 12 and 15, at the time, when he started to feel unwell. While they were enjoying a sun-soaked getaway at a resort in Lanzarote, John felt unwell. When his wife, a nurse, became concerned, they called a doctor. The next thing they knew, John was told to go to hospital.

“At that stage, I didn’t want to make a fuss, but I thought fair enough. I hadn’t had much chest pain at the point, but I was light-headed,” John told the Mirror. At the hospital John was undergoing an ECH when he began to experience “severe pain”.

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Amy Jones

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Amy Jones

The 61-year-old explained: “They said, ‘he’s having a heart attack now’. My wife was asked to leave the room, and they put some lines in me. I was vomiting and not very well at that stage, but they managed to put a stent in. Basically, there was an occlusion (blockage) in my left main stem artery, which is the worst possible place to have an occlusion. But then the stent got blocked, so they had to shock me a couple of times.”

Thankfully, John came around, and was taken to Cardiac Care Unit where he remained for three days, before being transferred to another ward in the hospital. Yet, as his heart attack happened the day before the family were due to fly home, the parents were left with the additional stress of trying to get their children home.

“My wife was obviously very upset, and we didn’t know how long I’d need to be in the hospital for,” John said. “We didn’t really want the kids getting worried, so we thought it was best they flew home with the other family (they had been on holiday with), and my sister would then meet them at the airport in the UK. We weren’t sure what we needed for them to fly without us.”

John and Annette signed a note confirming they had given consent for another family to travel with their two children back to the UK. Annette went with the group to Lanzarote airport to ensure everything went smoothly. As they had all checked in to their flight online the day before, they went through airport security and to their departure gate.

However, when they got to the gate, John claimed that his wife was told by easyJet staff that the children couldn’t travel without their parents onboard. John alleged: “They had our four boarding passes and a letter with our consent, but they point-blank refused and said that we had to get a letter from Guardia Civil to allow the kids to fly without parents, which was a bit of a shock. I had spoken to other people who have travelled with their own kids and taken other kids on holiday, and they never had any problems.”

As a result, their children had to stay in Lanzarote, which John said “put a bit more stress on the wife” who had to find an Airbnb near the hospital and start making plans for how to get their children home, as it was unclear how long John would remain in hospital.

It’s worth noting that easyJet states on its website that children aged 15 years and younger cannot travel unless they are accompanied by an adult. The airline also confirmed to the Mirror that, for British nationals, children under 15 can travel with another adult provided they have written consent from the child’s parent or legal guardian, but said there are different regulations for children of certain nationalities or when travelling to/from specific countries. However, the child must be on the same booking as the adult they are travelling with.

Annette went to the Guardia Civil to inquire about what they needed for their children to travel back to the UK with their godmother, who had flown out to Lanzarote. However, the couple say she was told by staff there that they didn’t need a letter from Guardia Civil, despite what they’d been told at the airport.

After this, they rebooked flights with another airline for their two sons and their godmother to fly home together. John said. “They flew home without any bother on Monday. They didn’t check any documentation and didn’t ask for anything.”

The following Saturday, and after a week in hospital, John was able to fly back to the UK. But following the ordeal, John said: “My wife was struggling, and it was frustrating. I was a bit annoyed at easyJet as they had given my wife the wrong information during a fairly stressful time.”

While John was able to claim the majority of their additional expenses, including the flights, through travel insurance, the issue is not settled in his mind, as he feels that nobody addressed the fact they were given “wrong information at the gate”.

Annette got in touch with easyJet, who apologised for the “challenges you all faced at Lanzarote airport”. However, John said he still feels “quite angry” at the whole situation as “the boys were struggling, their dad was in hospital, and they were in a nasty position – they had to stay around when they could have been at home, out of the stress”.

A spokesperson for easyJet told the Mirror: “We are very sorry to hear about Mr Evan’s circumstances and fully understand this will have been a stressful time for the family.

“We take the safeguarding of minors very seriously and have processes in place to ensure their wellbeing and to support our customers should their children need to be accompanied by someone other than their parent or legal guardian. This includes ensuring children are on the same booking as the adults they are travelling with, and we can make these changes to a booking for customers ahead of travel.

“Whilst Mr and Mrs Evans provided a letter of consent, as their children were on a separate booking to the adults they were travelling with, they were unfortunately unable to travel. We are in touch with the family about their experience and are offering any further assistance they may need.”

There have been tens of thousands of cases but infection is preventable

Health experts have warned of two diseases spreading in Spain and other parts of Europe and urged UK holidaymakers to take precautions this summer. According to new data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), gonorrhoea cases across Europe reached 106,331 in 2024 – a 303% increase since 2015.

At the same time, syphilis cases more than doubled to 45,577. Spain recorded some of the highest numbers of infections reported in Europe, with 37,169 gonorrhoea cases and 11,556 syphilis cases in 2024.

Gemma Nice, sex and relationships coach at condoms.uk, said: “People often behave differently on holiday because routines disappear and inhibitions lower. Alcohol, spontaneity, and the ‘holiday mindset’ can all lead to riskier sexual behaviour than people might normally engage in at home.

“We’re not saying people shouldn’t enjoy holiday romances, but many people wrongly assume that pregnancy prevention and STI protection are the same thing. Condoms remain the only form of contraception that helps protect against both pregnancy and STIs.”

Experts also warn that many travellers underestimate how common symptomless STIs can be, meaning infections can unknowingly spread between partners. Gemma said: “One of the biggest misconceptions is that you would immediately know if someone had an STI – or if you had one yourself. In reality, many infections can remain symptomless for weeks or even months while still being transmissible.

“We’re also seeing growing complacency around condoms, particularly where people rely on other forms of contraception or assume someone is ‘low risk’ without having open conversations around testing.”

The ECDC has warned that widening gaps in testing and prevention are contributing to rising infection rates across Europe, with officials urging people to use condoms with new or multiple partners and seek testing if symptoms appear.

According to experts at condoms.uk, several common holiday behaviours can increase STI risk while travelling – particularly when combined with alcohol, spontaneity, heat, and lower inhibitions.

Common mistakes include:

• Storing condoms in hot beach bags or cars Excess heat can damage latex and increase the risk of breakage without people realising.
• Using suncream before handling condoms Oil-based products can weaken latex and increase the likelihood of condom failure.
• Having sex in pools, hot tubs or the sea Water reduces natural lubrication, increasing friction and the chance of irritation or condom breakage.
• Relying on local shops or vending machines for protection Travellers may struggle to find familiar brands, sizing, or products that meet UK standards.
• Assuming oral sex carries little STI risk Infections including gonorrhoea and syphilis can still be passed on through oral sex.
• Skipping sexual health checks before or after travelling Many STIs can remain symptomless, making regular testing important after new sexual encounters.

Gemma added: “Many holiday-related STI risks come down to small, avoidable mistakes. Packing protection, checking condoms are stored properly, and having open conversations around sexual health can make a huge difference. It’s also important to always check the expiry dates on all condoms and lubricant products.

“Holiday sex should still be safe sex. Planning ahead and carrying protection is one of the easiest ways to protect both yourself and your partner.”

Closed since 2014, the airport was briefly brought back into use as a lorry park during the pandemic, but the reopening plans have hit a snag after the local council raised concerns

An abandoned airport boasting the UK’s 11th-longest civilian runway has hit a significant obstacle ahead of its long-anticipated reopening. Plans to restore Manston Airport, near Ramsgate in Kent, back to full operation have been in motion since 2019, with the project anticipated to cost somewhere between £500m and £750m.

The site has stood idle since 2014 but was given a new lease of life during the Covid-19 pandemic as a lorry park. Current owner RiverOak Strategic Partners Ltd (RSP) is aiming to relaunch the airport as a global air freight hub, alongside offering commercial flights by 2029.

In March, RSP launched a public consultation on the proposals. Its director, Tony Freudmann, invited people to “provide any feedback they might have to help shape our plans”.

At that point, the firm anticipated construction work beginning early next year. However, in May, Ramsgate Town Council announced it would raise concerns over proposed changes to flight paths and airspace as part of the Stage 3 consultation.

Shuttered since 2014, the site was temporarily repurposed as a lorry park during the Covid-19 pandemic. RSP acquired Manston in 2019, with the Development Consent Order (DCO) granting approval for the reopening signed off in 2020.

This faced legal challenges, though an updated DCO was approved in 2022. Ramsgate Town Council contended that the proposed flight paths would result in aircraft passing over heavily populated areas of Ramsgate at low altitudes.

It was noted in the proposals that the airport could see up to 14,000 air traffic movements a year by 2038—about 38 flights a day. The council highlighted the potential impact this could have on residents.

RTC highlighted potential adverse health consequences stemming from noise exposure, as outlined in the proposal. These include disrupted sleep, a heightened risk of strokes and heart attacks, loss of amenity and possible links to dementia.

In fact, the applicant’s own plans put the potential cost of noise-related health conditions at more than £20.8 million over 10 years. RTC said it had further concerns, too.

It argued that the size of the intended operations is much larger in scale compared to past levels. RTC also suggested that there was a lack of evidence regarding secured funds or operators.

Also, it claimed demand had not been independently verified. In addition, the council didn’t believe that the consultation was enough for the size of the proposal, citing a limited number of engagement events.

RTC chairperson Cllr Steve Albon told The Isle of Thanet News: “Ramsgate Town Council recognises the importance of this issue to residents and is committed to ensuring that local concerns are clearly and professionally represented.

“The council will continue to engage with relevant authorities and stakeholders to try to ensure that any decisions relating to Manston Airport fully consider the impact on Ramsgate’s community.”