Bosses of a hotel where two former guests died from Legionnaires’ disease were alerted a year ago that another holidaymaker had caught the bug.
Scot James Cooper was left fighting for his life after returning from the Kalofer Hotel, in Bulgaria, last year.
At one stage, medics warned relatives that the 59-year-old stonemason had less than an hour to live.
James’s wife Janet, from Dunfermline, alerted the hotel’s bosses about his condition and demanded they take action.
The couple were shocked when they read last week that two holidaymakers had died from Legionnaires’ shortly after staying at the Kalofer this summer.
John Cowan 43, from Hamilton, and Brian Taylor, 75, from Huddersfield, passed away within days of each other. They stayed at the 3-star Sunny Beach resort in June.
Janet said: “As James started to recover, I thought I would contact the hotel manager to let her know about his illness.
“I advised her to check the air conditioning and shower systems to hopefully avoid this happening to anyone else.
“She responded promptly via Facebook Messenger, shocked at my news, but also listing their alleged water cleansing routine and timetable.
"She contacted me a couple of times after that, asking how James was. I was so shocked that these deaths have happened this year.”
James, who spent nearly three weeks in hospital, said: “It was terrifying. One minute you’re on holiday having a great time. The next, you’re fighting for your life in hospital.”
Janet, James and their teenage daughter Chloe stayed at the Kalofer in July last year.
They booked the break directly with the hotel.
On the second-last night, James slept for a couple of hours with the air conditioning on while Chloe was in another room and Janet was on the balcony.
The family believe it was during this period – the only time the aircon was used – that James picked up the bug.
Janet said the day after they returned home, James had a dry cough. Later, his breathing became laboured. He was diagnosed with a chest infection and given antibiotics.
But his condition worsened and he was rushed to the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, where he spent four days in a coma.
He was diagnosed with sepsis and pneumonia Legionella.
In messages to Janet, the Kalofer said they’d spent £23,000 on a system to prevent Legionnaires’ and assured her all tests had come back negative.
Last night, hotel spokeswoman Stanislava Petrova said they had “not been informed by the local health authorities about any case from last year”.
She said: “From the beginning of the summer season, more than 50 samples from the guest rooms, the kitchen, the pools, the water heaters and the other parts and systems in the hotel have been tested and in all, no Legionella is found.”
