Dead tourist #5 in Chiang Mai

[Flashermac]

 

Where's Andrew Drummond? He should be after this story.

 

 

[Boo Radley]

The latest theory is that they died from insecticide poisoning due to overzealous bedbug irradication in the rooms.

 

Toxin 'likely' cause of Sarah Carter's death (08/05/11)

An investigation has found traces of a potentially lethal toxin in the Thai hotel where Wellington woman Sarah Carter became fatally ill.

Traces of chlorpyrifos, which is used to kill bedbugs but has been banned in other countries, have been found in samples that current affairs television show 60 Minutes had independently tested.

Carter, 23, died and her friends Emma Langlands and Amanda Eliason became gravely ill while on holiday in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

A United Nations scientist, Ron McDowall, said there was a strong likelihood Carter died from excessive exposure to the substance, which causes identical symptoms to those suffered by the trio as well as several other tourists who died after staying at the hotel...

More here:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/asia/4976814/Toxin-likely-cause-of-Sarah-Carters-death

http://www.3news.co.nz/Sarah-Carters-likely-cause-of-death---insecticide/tabid/371/articleID/210265/Default.aspx

[unit731]

The ony food poisening I have ever got in SE Asia was in Chiang Mai.

[Bangkoktraveler]

Mom always warned that the bedbugs would get you.

[allistar]

Here's a composite of reviews of the Downtown Inn, and they gave the hotel a 3.5 (out of 4) rating; "Good buffet breakfast included in price" - agoda.com ... "Guest Friendly Good hotel and near to food and nig " - agoda.com ... "First got put in room that smelled bad from smoke with double bed" - agoda.com ... "Price was good and included buffet breakfast" - agoda.com ... "Staff always polite and very helpful" ("Smelled bad from smoke,") I guess they checked in just after the rooms had been sprayed for the day.

[Gadfly]

This seems to have just dropped from the mainstream news in the hopes that no one will pay attention. Ignore it and it will go away continues to be the basic strategy. I continue to believe that most authorities really don't understand the internet or how the world has changes in the last 20 years. I saw an article several years ago when a Thai authority (a General, I believe) wrote a letter to the "President" of the internet (the naming authority) complaining about stories associating Thailand with sex. Admittedly, the authorities are a bit more sophisticated these days, but they still don't get in and the 'head in the sand' continues.

[Coss]

I once checked into the Stable Lodge, Soi 8, Sukhumvit and the smell of Chlorine was so strong it burnt my eyes and nasal membranes.

 

I immediately requested and got another room but the Chlorine was redolent in my airways for a day after.

 

Thais+Chemicals=Overkill

 

And I mean that most sincerely, I really do.

[gobbledonk]

The ony food poisening I have ever got in SE Asia was in Chiang Mai.

 

Be happy - at least you were violently ill in a nice part of the world. Imagine yourself in a windowless room in Pnomh Penh, on a street where women and children sort through the rubbish in the gutters. A holiday I will never forget, no question.

 

[Flashermac]

 

Word is the Downtown Hotel is owned by a former mayor of Chiang Mai. 'Nuff said.

 

 

[Flashermac]

In the Bangkok Post today!

 

 

Lethal bug toxin found in hotel

 

 

 

An independent investigation has found traces of a potentially lethal toxin in the Chiang Mai hotel where a New Zealand tourist became fatally ill.

 

Traces of chlorpyrifos, which is used to kill bedbugs but has been banned in other countries, have been found in samples that the New Zealand current affairs television show 60 Minutes had independently tested, The Dominion Post reported.

 

Sarah Carter, 23, died on Feb 6, and her friends Emma Langlands and Amanda Eliason became gravely ill while they were on holiday in the Downtown Inn Hotel in Chiang Mai.

 

Five people died from unexplained causes in Chiang Mai over a 16-day period after New Year. Four stayed at the Downtown Inn Hotel. A UN scientist, Ron McDowall, said there was a strong likelihood Carter died from excessive exposure to the substance, which causes identical symptoms to those suffered by the trio as well as several other tourists who died after staying at the hotel.

 

Most had myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart. Thai authorities have maintained the deaths were a coincidence.

 

Chiang Mai's head of public health Dr Surasing Visaruthrat also investigated the insecticide theory.

 

"I'm not a specialist," he said. "But it's possible that they mixed together the wrong chemicals." The fact traces of chlorpyrifos were found three months after Carter's death and after the room was cleaned suggested the concentration was high.

 

"I think she has been killed by an overzealous sprayer who's been acting on the instructions of the hotel owner to deal with bed bugs," Mr McDowall said.

 

Even a slight mistake in the dosage of chlorpyrifos, which has been banned for indoor use in many countries, could be lethal, he said.

 

Mr McDowall checked his theory with other experts from New Zealand and Italy, who supported his belief.

 

"Their reaction was it's quite clear it's chlorpyrifos poisoning; the symptoms are the same, the pathology is the same and the proxy indicates that the chemical was present in the room," he said.

 

Chiang Mai and Bangkok-based experts investigating the case will meet tomorrow to share information.

 

 

 

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