American tourist among victims of mass alcohol poisoning in Laos

An American tourist died from contaminated alcohol

An Australian teenager and a British woman died after drinking tainted alcohol in Laos, in what Australia’s prime minister said was every parent’s nightmare. The services said after reports that an American and two Danish tourists also died in a popular Laotian town. Dr. Knut Erik Hovda, professor and senior consultant at Oslo University Hospital, joined FOX’s LiveNOW to talk.

The American was one of at least six tourists who died in the Loas mass alcohol poisoning case.

In a brief statement released to the media, the Lao government expressed “deeply saddened by the deaths of foreign tourists” in the city of Vang Vieng and expressed condolences to the families of the victims.

Few details about it have been published the number of tourists affected and a possible source of beverages containing methanol. Laos is a one-party communist state where there is no organized opposition and the government sticks closely to information.

View of Vang Vieng in Laos, December 2018. Since the late 1990s, Vang Vieng has been open as a tourist resort for Western backpackers. The city quickly transformed from an agricultural commune into the party capital ((photo: Oleksandr Rupet

Landlocked, Laos is one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia and a popular tourist destination. Vang Vieng is particularly popular with Western tourists looking for events and extreme sports.

Police said arrests had been made but declined to provide further information.

Methanol is sometimes added to mixed drinks in sleazy bars as a cheaper alternative to ethanol, but it can cause serious poisoning or death. It is also a by-product of poorly distilled home brew and could accidentally leach into bar drinks.

This was announced by Dr. Knut Erik Hovda, a doctor from the University Hospital in Oslo LiveNow from FOX that methanol turns into a very toxic substance in the body – formic acid – which “has the same effects as cyanide.”

People who accidentally drink methanol describe an intense hangover the next day, before the illness becomes even more serious. Hovda said most methanol poisoning cases occur in Asia.

Two Australian teenagers and a British woman have died of suspected methanol poisoning. An American and two Danes also died, although the exact causes of their deaths were not revealed. A New Zealander is also sick.

The U.S. Department of State issued a health warning for citizens traveling in Laos on Friday, warning of “suspected methanol poisoning in Vang Vieng, possibly as a result of consumption of alcoholic beverages containing methanol,” following similar warnings from other countries whose citizens were involved.