Online doctor, Cape Verde
Food Poisoning in Cape Verde What to do now.
Sickness, diarrhoea and cramps on Sal, Boa Vista or Santiago? Most stomach upsets settle within a week on rest and fluids. Some do not, and here the two that matter most are blood in your stool and a fever, both of which mean being seen in person rather than waiting. Pomodoc connects you by video with an English-speaking doctor licensed to treat you in Cape Verde, for a fixed €40, to work out which of those you are dealing with.
If there is blood in your stool, or a fever alongside the diarrhoea, treat that as a reason to be seen in person today rather than a reason to book a call.
- €40
- per consultation
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- or local registration needed
English-speaking doctors, licensed to treat you in Cape Verde.
Stomach Upsets in Cape Verde
NHS guidance describes food poisoning as feeling sick or being sick, diarrhoea, tummy pain, a high temperature and feeling generally unwell, usually starting within a few hours or days of eating something, and usually settling within a week.
Most of that needs fluids and time rather than a doctor. What it needs from you is honest attention to two things: whether you are keeping enough down, and whether anything has appeared that changes the picture. A consultation is a reasonable way to check both, and to be told plainly if the answer is that you should be seen.
- Consult securely by video
- Avoid unnecessary travel and waiting rooms
- Get clear guidance about your symptoms and treatment
- Access care while travelling or living in Cape Verde
Manage It, or Be Seen?
For a stomach upset in Cape Verde that is the only question that matters, and the honest answer depends on two symptoms rather than on how miserable you feel.
A video consultation may help when
- there is no blood in your stool and no fever
- you are keeping some fluids down but cannot tell whether it is enough
- you want to know what to watch for overnight, and what would change the plan
- you are on a smaller island and want to judge urgency before committing to a journey
- it is settling but slower than you expected, and you are weighing whether to be seen
In those cases the useful output is a plan and a set of thresholds. Rehydration is the treatment for most of this, and NHS guidance treats most food poisoning as resolving with rest and fluids.
Be seen in person instead when
- there is blood in your stool
- there is a fever alongside the diarrhoea
- you cannot keep any fluids down at all
- there are signs of dehydration: dark urine, passing very little, dizziness on standing
- diarrhoea has lasted more than seven days, or vomiting more than two days
Pomodoc connects you with an English-speaking doctor by video, licensed to treat you in Cape Verde, for €40 per consultation. Fixed price, no surprises.
If you are told to go to a clinic, that is the call doing its job. On a small island it is also the sentence that gets you moving while it is still straightforward.
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How It Works
Medical advice by video in three simple steps
Start online
Tell us where you are in Cape Verde and what is going on. It is a short form, not an appointment request.
Join by video
See your English-speaking doctor using your phone, tablet or computer.
Get clear guidance
Discuss your symptoms and receive advice about your next steps.
Why Use Pomodoc?
Explain it in English
Describe your symptoms and ask questions in English, instead of working it out at a hotel reception desk.
You do not have to leave the room
This is the illness where getting anywhere is the hardest part. A consultation happens where you already are.
Useful on the smaller islands
Options thin out away from Praia and Mindelo. Judging urgency before you travel for care is worth more here than in a city.
Understand what to do next
A doctor can help you decide whether you need in-person care, rehydration support, or watching overnight.
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More About Stomach Upsets in Cape Verde
Rehydration, and what to drink it with
Rehydration is the treatment for most of this, and the practical question in Cape Verde is what you mix it with. Bottled water is the sensible default while you are ill, and the same caution extends to ice and to anything rinsed rather than cooked.
NHS advice otherwise applies: plenty of fluids, small sips if you feel sick, and avoid fruit juice and fizzy drinks because they can make diarrhoea worse. Oral rehydration sachets from a pharmacy are the standard way to replace salts after a heavy episode, and they are worth buying before you need them.
Nine inhabited islands, and very different distances to help
Cape Verde is an archipelago, and where you are changes what being ill means. The largest hospitals are in Praia on Santiago and Mindelo on Sao Vicente. Sal and Boa Vista, where most package travellers stay, have smaller medical facilities and clinics, and FCDO says facilities are particularly limited on Boa Vista.
FCDO notes that Brava and Santo Antao have no working airports, which makes medical air evacuation from those two islands extremely difficult. If you are staying anywhere small, it is worth asking your accommodation on arrival how a serious problem actually gets moved. That is a better question to have asked early than to be researching while unwell.
Why a stomach upset here deserves a lower threshold than at home
At home, a bad 48 hours is inconvenient. On a small island with limited facilities, the same 48 hours of not keeping fluids down is a different problem, because the options for fixing dehydration properly are further away and the journey to them is harder.
That is not a reason to be alarmed. It is a reason to act on the warning signs earlier than you might at home, and to treat blood in the stool or a fever as today's problem rather than tomorrow's.
What the 2025–26 rise in cases means
From October 2025, Shigella and Salmonella infections were reported in travellers returning from Cape Verde, mainly from the Santa Maria and Boa Vista areas, and ECDC reported shigellosis and other gastrointestinal infections in returning travellers across a number of European countries. NaTHNaC reported on 11 June 2026 that the UK Shigella cluster declined after peaking in late October 2025, with the most recent case reported in February 2026. FCDO says reported cases have decreased, but there is still a risk of gastrointestinal illness, as in other countries.
What it means for you is the threshold, not the treatment. Shigella tends to produce bloody diarrhoea and fever, and both of those are already on the list above as reasons to be seen in person rather than to manage at home. So if either appears, act on it rather than waiting it out, and say what you have been told about local illness when you speak to a doctor. Keeping a simple record of what you ate, when symptoms started and who you reported it to is sensible, and it is worth doing for your own medical continuity regardless of anything else.
Good things to know.
I have a stomach upset in Cape Verde. Do I need a doctor?
Not always. Most stomach upsets settle within a week on rest and fluids, and NHS guidance treats them as self-limiting. Two things change that here: blood in your stool, or a fever alongside the diarrhoea. Either means being seen in person rather than managing it in your room. So do dehydration, being unable to keep fluids down, diarrhoea beyond seven days or vomiting beyond two.
Is the tap water safe in Cape Verde?
Bottled water is the sensible default while you have a stomach upset, and the same caution applies to ice and to food rinsed rather than cooked. Rehydration is the treatment for most of this, so what you mix it with matters more than usual when you are already ill.
What should I ask a pharmacy for?
Oral rehydration sachets, and bottled water to mix them with. They replace the salts and fluid a heavy episode takes out of you. They are rehydration rather than treatment: they will not shorten an infection and they are not a reason to keep waiting once any of the warning signs above have appeared.
I am on Sal or Boa Vista. Where would I actually go?
Both have smaller medical facilities and clinics, and FCDO says facilities are particularly limited on Boa Vista. FCDO publishes a list of providers in Cape Verde where some staff speak English. The largest hospitals are in Praia on Santiago and Mindelo on Sao Vicente. If you are somewhere smaller still, ask your accommodation how a serious problem gets moved, because it varies island by island.
When does this become an emergency?
NHS guidance lists vomiting blood, green or yellow-green vomit, severe tummy pain, a sudden severe headache, a stiff neck with pain on looking at bright lights, blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue, severe difficulty breathing, being confused or not responding as usual, and possibly having swallowed something poisonous as emergencies. In Cape Verde call 130 and ask for an ambulance, or go to the nearest hospital.
Is there currently an illness outbreak in Cape Verde?
Cases have fallen since late 2025. Shigella and Salmonella infections were reported in travellers returning from Cape Verde from October 2025; NaTHNaC reported on 11 June 2026 that the UK Shigella cluster declined after peaking in late October 2025, with the most recent case in February 2026, and FCDO says reported cases have decreased but there is still a risk of gastrointestinal illness, as in other countries. For someone who is already unwell it changes the threshold rather than the treatment: Shigella tends to cause bloody diarrhoea and fever, and both already mean being seen in person rather than waiting.
Sources
- Food poisoningNHSThe symptom list; that it usually settles within a week; the fluids advice including small sips and avoiding fruit juice and fizzy drinks; the reasons to seek advice including dehydration, being unable to keep fluids down, diarrhoea beyond seven days, vomiting beyond two days and babies under twelve months; and the emergency symptoms.
- Cape Verde travel advice: HealthForeign, Commonwealth and Development Office130 for an ambulance; that the largest hospitals are in Praia and Mindelo, with smaller medical facilities and clinics elsewhere, and that facilities are particularly limited on Boa Vista; that reported Shigella and Salmonella cases in returning travellers have decreased but a risk of gastrointestinal illness remains, as in other countries (re-checked 2026-10-01); that FCDO publishes a list of providers where some staff speak English; and that Brava and Santo Antao have no working airports, making medical air evacuation from them extremely difficult.
- Cape Verde: country informationNaTHNaC (TravelHealthPro)General travel health guidance for Cape Verde, including food and water precautions.
- Epidemiological update: Shigellosis and other gastrointestinal infections in travellers returning from Cabo VerdeEuropean Centre for Disease Prevention and ControlThat shigellosis and other gastrointestinal infections have been reported among travellers returning from Cabo Verde across multiple European countries. OUTBREAK-SPECIFIC: remove with the outbreak section when the event is no longer current.
- Shigella and Salmonella cases reported in travellers returning from Cape VerdeNaTHNaC (TravelHealthPro)Cases from 1 October 2025, mainly linked to the Santa Maria and Boa Vista areas; that the UK Shigella cluster declined after peaking in late October 2025, with the most recent case reported in February 2026 (published 11 June 2026, last updated 7 July 2026; re-checked 2026-10-01). OUTBREAK-SPECIFIC: remove with the outbreak section.
Sources last checked: . General information, not a diagnosis.
Not Sure Whether You Need to Be Seen?
Speak to an English-speaking doctor by video and get guidance from wherever you are staying.
- €40, fixed price
- Licensed in Cape Verde
- English-speaking doctors
- Prescriptions where available
Video consultations are for suitable non-emergency medical concerns. In a life-threatening emergency in Cape Verde, call 130 and ask for an ambulance, or go to the nearest hospital. Blood in the stool or a fever alongside diarrhoea should be assessed in person. This page is general information, not medical advice about your own situation.