Thai health authorities probe Aussies’ claim of “two years in hell” after eating Pad Thai in Thailand in 2017

[webfact]

Thai health authorities probe Aussies’ claim of “two years in hell” after eating Pad Thai in Thailand in 2017

 

 

Thailand’s Disease Control Department is investigation a claim by an Australian couple that they went through “two years of hell” after eating a plate of Pad Thai, a popular Thai-style fried noodle, while vacationing in Thailand in 2017.

 

According to thethaiger.com on Monday, Stacey Barnes and Ryan Prigg from Perth, along with their two children, visited Thailand in 2017. Once back in Perth they both began to feel unwell, drained of energy and struggling even to get out of bed.

 

Following extensive tests, doctors found that they were hosting dientamoeba fragilis, a single celled parasite, which they say was in a Pad Thai dish they had eaten at a food court in Thailand.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/thai-health-authorities-probe-aussies-claim-of-two-years-in-hell-after-eating-pad-thai-in-thailand-in-2017/

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2019-07-10

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Related story:

Holiday from hell: How eating Pad Thai from food court in Thailand left Aussie couple with debilitating illness
https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1110476-holiday-from-hell-how-eating-pad-thai-from-food-court-in-thailand-left-aussie-couple-with-debilitating-illness/ 

[Vacuum]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Following extensive tests, doctors found that they were hosting dientamoeba fragilis, a single celled parasite, which they say was in a Pad Thai dish they had eaten at a food court in Thailand.

lol. This is a scam fore sure. How could these 'doctors' find out that this single celled parasite came from eating Pad Thai in Thailand? It also took them quite a while to find 'doctors' who was willing to 'treat' them.

 

[connda]

Glad to see the statement that they never planned to return to Thailand.  My guess is that they'd find a police reception committee waiting for them in order to 'answer some questions' as they stepped off the plane.  Defamation being what it is in the LOS.  

[NCC1701A]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

, which they say was in a Pad Thai dish they had eaten at a food court in Thailand.

 

[Juan B Tong]

Full investigating team to be send to Oz I guess.

[ThaiFelix]

Whats wrong with these people.  I'm an Aussie and we have the same kind of comments/complaints from Aussies that go to Bali to yahoo.  They seem to think Bali is another state of Australia.  They binge drink/eat magic mushrooms etc and get sick or run around on motorcycles till they have an accident and then complain about the local hospitals.  These are 3rd world countries.  You want to travel you take the risks.  And I might add, be more responsible for your children before you travel.

 

Most of these idiots never do any research or take any precautions before they travel to some destination they have no clue about.  See your doctor first, maybe there are shots to take or things to avoid.  Even a simple thing like worm tablets are important to take....even at home if you have pets or come into contact with animals.

 

Ive lived in Thailand for 16 years (this time), eat at the street stalls and restaurants frequently and have only once been infected by a parasite.  A tablet a day for 3 days and Bob's your uncle...no probs.

 

Act a little bit more responsible when you travel next and stop trying to get someone else to pay for your own stupidity!

[natway09]

Good on the Thai health authorities.

There is something wrong with this & I don't mean the food 

[steven100]

As I said …..  the fatigue was not from food poisoning,  it was from all the bom bom and banging and piss drinkin day in day out.  

[snoop1130]

Health chief comes to Phad Thai’s defence

By The Nation

 

 

Ingredients stir-fried at temperatures of as low as 80 degrees Celsius should make pad thai safe to eat, says the country’s health chief, in comments aimed at reassuring fans of the traditional dish in the wake of tourist complaints of food poisoning aired on social media.

 

The director-general of the Department of Health, Dr Panpimol Wipulakorn, came to the defence of the noodle-based dish after two foreign visitors posted on social media reports of their experience with food poisoning that they linked to pad thai. Although their trip happened about two years, the tourists’ posts have made their way into news reports.

 

Panpimol, in addition to citing the minimum temperature recommended for the cooking of pad thai, suggested that other factors in the food preparation could have led to the poisoning that the tourists came down with. She speculated that the ingredients could have been off or that the raw vegetables served alongside the dish had not been washed properly.

 

Panpimol stressed that restaurants and food stalls should ensure the cutlery is always sufficiently clean.

 

The doctor advised the vendors of pad thai to strictly follow food hygiene guidelines, especially the tips on how to rinse vegetables thoroughly.

 

She also suggests that Thais and foreigners fond of pad thai should seek out outlets and restaurants that have been issued with food safety guarantees from the Public Health Ministry.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30372724

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand  2019-07-10

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[Dumbastheycome]

I agree with the objection to the claim.  There is no way that possible to point the finger at a specific food outlet or meal. An indicated suspicion with  cause might be accepted. But during the  course of a family holiday where people come in contact with any  number of sources of possible infection including directly  from a singular food outlet is a test of credibility.

Maybe investigative journalists should  pursue the  calamity in light of  travel insurance claims after the fact  or even ascertain the claims about cause to abandon  a "successful" internet business.

Children were along for the ride. No mention of  issues with them.

 

[Letseng]

When you read up on symptoms, cause of infection, treatment, diagnostic it becomes clear that these ppl have an agenda.

How could this parasite survive being cooked in hot oil? 

It took them 2 years to pinpoint pad thai in a particular foodcourt?

They ate only ne meal during their stay?

May be they do not believe in washing after using a bathroom?

This is a source of infection.

 

[atyclb]

 the organism in question "Dientamoeba fragilis" is believed to most widely be transmitted via the "feco-oral" route thus all it takes is a worker with poor toilet sanitary habits to contaminate a plate, silverware and or food(post cooking) A medical literature search easily confirms this. Claiming that pad Thai is cooked at high temperature is largely irrelevant.

 

thai authorites making so much fuss to deny it is possible is nonsense, as usual and they just look like morons.

 

what the aussies claim is completely possible.

Edited July 10, 2019 by atyclb

[overherebc]

14 minutes ago, atyclb said:

 the organism in question "Dientamoeba fragilis" is believed to most widely be transmitted via the "feco-oral" route thus all it takes is a worker with poor toilet sanitary habits to contaminate a plate, silverware and or food(post cooking) A medical literature search easily confirms this. Claiming that pad Thai is cooked at high temperature is largely irrelevant.

 

thai authorites making so much fuss to deny it is possible is nonsense, as usual and they just look like morons.

 

what the aussies claim is completely possible.

Sorry can't agree with you. No one in the world can pin down the source to one meal after a month let alone longer.

These two, I reckon, are trying something on.

[atyclb]

59 minutes ago, overherebc said:

1 hour ago, atyclb said:

 the organism in question "Dientamoeba fragilis" is believed to most widely be transmitted via the "feco-oral" route thus all it takes is a worker with poor toilet sanitary habits to contaminate a plate, silverware and or food(post cooking) A medical literature search easily confirms this. Claiming that pad Thai is cooked at high temperature is largely irrelevant.

 

thai authorites making so much fuss to deny it is possible is nonsense, as usual and they just look like morons.

 

what the aussies claim is completely possible.

Sorry can't agree with you. No one in the world can pin down the source to one meal after a month let alone longer.

These two, I reckon, are trying something on.

 

i was not referring to the alleged source of infection by the couple but to the statement(s) made by thai authorities especially that because pad thai is cooked using high heat such a meal can not be the source.

 

reading comprehension 101 is your best friend

 

 

Capisce?

 

Edited July 10, 2019 by atyclb

[sammieuk1]

Next up Aussies on red notice extradition request pending as reputations get damaged????

[dinsdale]

11 hours ago, webfact said:

Following extensive tests, doctors found that they were hosting dientamoeba fragilis, a single celled parasite, which they say was in a Pad Thai dish they had eaten at a food court in Thailand.

Well I'm not sure if there's some translation problems here but this statement seems completly flawed. Who says this bacteria was in the food? The doctors? How would they know without a sample? Those who ate it? How would they know without a mobile laboritory to test the food? Did they eat this two years ago and now claim it was the pad thai? Please help me with this one. I've had a long day.

 

 

[vanillalatte]

10 hours ago, Vacuum said:

lol. This is a scam fore sure. How could these 'doctors' find out that this single celled parasite came from eating Pad Thai in Thailand? It also took them quite a while to find 'doctors' who was willing to 'treat' them.

 

This is NOT! scam for sure!We call this thing just "amoeba",You contract this during stay in tropics,sometime without symptoms.It resides in your guts.This is not bacteria!Unboiled water is usual source of infection.After you come back home from tropics,you should check yourself.

Because out of tropics it will atack your liver and it may finish you very fast.

Travelling backpackers suffer from it often and it is common knowledge how to treat it.

I am shocked that you are all ignorant of this threat.!

[Lupatria]

...and let's all blame the Chinese:

As part of his nationalist campaign, Plaek Phibunsongkhram, who had been promoted to Thai Prime Minister by a coup d'état, ordered the creation of a new national court: Pad Thai.

However, the most intriguing thing about Pad Thai is, that it's probably not even Thai. Pasta, stir-fried and especially noodle stir-fries are typically Chinese. In fact, virtually every ingredient in Pad Thai does not come from the people the dish is named after. The only truly Thai ingredient is the crushed dried chili peppers.

[BritManToo]

14 hours ago, steven100 said:

As I said …..  the fatigue was not from food poisoning,  it was from all the bom bom and banging and piss drinkin day in day out.  

He was here with his OZ wife and kids ....... I doubt there was any sex on his holiday.

[Cadbury]

16 hours ago, Juan B Tong said:

Full investigating team to be send to Oz I guess.

They could use Prawit's personal VIP jet except that it only carries 10 people and many more than that will be needed for the investigation team. 

[YaiJung]

Seen this over and over again while living in Phuket. People complaining of bad food, but overlooking the fact they have been spending countless hours everyday swimming in raw sewage. All it takes is one drop of contaminated water...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Soundspeed]

If these two ever get sick from eating food in Australia where will they go to next? And would they " Never come back to Australia" again?

I think it is likely they didn't follow basic sensible hygiene when traveling like cleaning your hands before you eat. Personally I don't like to eat dishes which have been kept warm for a time and are ready to serve.  That goes for food in Australia too. I prefer to see my Phad Thai cooked in front of me. Street food has never caused me any problems in 30 years  of travel and living here but an American colleague ate a hotel hamburger on his first day because he thought western food is safer and spent the next three days in hospital.

Seems to me they are publicising their internet well being website. I wouldn't follow their advice.

 

Edited July 11, 2019 by Soundspeed
type correction

[owenm]

Parasitic infections are extremely common in tropical environments, Thailand and all over SE Asia. When you purchase chicken, pork and vegetables from markets or supermarkets, they should all be washed in a salt water solution to kill any bacteria and bugs prior to storage in the fridge or cooking.. This is easy for your own home cooking, but eating out from food stalls or restaurants most likely not the case.

 

Poor sanitation, dirty glasses or cutlery, meat stored at ambient temps for too long, all cause breeding grounds for parasites.. Tinidazole 500mg treats many different parasites, and OTC for about 95bht for one course of 4 tabs, children over 4yrs 2 tabs. Some strains require only one dose, others up to 4 doses over 4 days to kill off larvae and particularly resistant parasites. 

 

Myself and my GF generally pickup one of these infections every 3-4 months, most likely due to eating out somewhere. Symptoms, chronic diarrhoea, stomach cramps, lethargy, headaches and extreme fatigue.. We also keep 2 packs of Tinidazole in the fridge and carry with us when we visit close SE Asian countries on a holiday. 

 

Any competent doctor taking blood and stool tests, knowing the symptoms and the fact that the patients have visited an Asian country should be able to give a very fast diagnosis within a few days. But not all doctors, even in Oz are 100% on the ball all of the time.. 

[ThaiFelix]

3 hours ago, Lupatria said:

...and let's all blame the Chinese:

As part of his nationalist campaign, Plaek Phibunsongkhram, who had been promoted to Thai Prime Minister by a coup d'état, ordered the creation of a new national court: Pad Thai.

However, the most intriguing thing about Pad Thai is, that it's probably not even Thai. Pasta, stir-fried and especially noodle stir-fries are typically Chinese. In fact, virtually every ingredient in Pad Thai does not come from the people the dish is named after. The only truly Thai ingredient is the crushed dried chili peppers.

No the chilies were introduced by the early Portuguese and French I believe.

[owenm]

Many years ago on a trip to Bali, myself and an ex GF picked up a medical condition that took 2 years to cure in Oz after going to various doctors and specialists for diagnosis. Staying at a guest house in Ubud we came down with flu like symptoms within 2 days of staying there, with a musty and mouldy smell on entering the room each day.

 

Turned out there was lots of mould on one wall beside the bed against the wall. Airborne mould spores somehow were ingested into our lungs and into our blood. Blood tests showed we had an infection, but getting a diagnosis was our major problem. Different tests for different conditions all back negative. Various antibiotics did nothing but symptoms kept changing. In the end a naturopath cured our condition after 2 years.. 

End diagnosis, unknown?? 

 

So not all conditions are easy to diagnose, depending on the condition. 

 

Another time contracted Legionnaires Disease from Thailand about 6 yrs ago. Three days after arriving back in Oz was in a hospital ICU with pneumonia and after a week diagnosed legionella, and tracking down their 10 day incubation timeline I was in a BKK Sukhumvit hotel. But I discovered that the timeline could have been 10-14 days, so I could have been infected in BKK, or Pattaya or one of several shopping malls..

 

Luckily on this occasion diagnosis was reasonably fast, and they suspected and treated for legionella before the lab results came through. I was extremely lucky because this condition was life threatening and left me off work for the next 3 months. 

[ThaiFelix]

13 minutes ago, owenm said:

Parasitic infections are extremely common in tropical environments, Thailand and all over SE Asia. When you purchase chicken, pork and vegetables from markets or supermarkets, they should all be washed in a salt water solution to kill any bacteria and bugs prior to storage in the fridge or cooking.. This is easy for your own home cooking, but eating out from food stalls or restaurants most likely not the case.

 

Poor sanitation, dirty glasses or cutlery, meat stored at ambient temps for too long, all cause breeding grounds for parasites.. Tinidazole 500mg treats many different parasites, and OTC for about 95bht for one course of 4 tabs, children over 4yrs 2 tabs. Some strains require only one dose, others up to 4 doses over 4 days to kill off larvae and particularly resistant parasites. 

 

Myself and my GF generally pickup one of these infections every 3-4 months, most likely due to eating out somewhere. Symptoms, chronic diarrhoea, stomach cramps, lethargy, headaches and extreme fatigue.. We also keep 2 packs of Tinidazole in the fridge and carry with us when we visit close SE Asian countries on a holiday. 

 

Any competent doctor taking blood and stool tests, knowing the symptoms and the fact that the patients have visited an Asian country should be able to give a very fast diagnosis within a few days. But not all doctors, even in Oz are 100% on the ball all of the time.. 

Very good post.  I totally agree.

 

One factor people may be overlooking is that in most places you get a plate/basket of fresh salad (mint, basil, banana flower, cabbage etc) with Pad Thai.  While the Pad Thai is treated with heat, the salads are barely washed and therefore a greater risk.  (But I am certainly not supporting their claim to pin pointing the source to one meal).

 

I had a nasty parasite some years back called a larvae migrans that travels around your body and can eat your eyeball from the inside.  Quite common here but detected within a couple of hours at the local hospital through a blood test and treated over a 3 day course of tabs.  Doctor advised me that most common source is raw salads/vegetables and probably spread by dog or pig fecal material.

 

I also believe these things are also spread greatly by your hands.  Have you ever seen test results from the keys of an ATM machine, public telephone or even money. 

[grumpy 4680]

     Inspite of all the Thai denials, there must be a reason why the medical labs suspect pad thai, the family are only stating what they may have been told. 

    Its not inconceivable that a parasite was picked up here, I've seen cooks wipe a used bowl with what I can only describe as a well used dish rag, before cooking another dish in the same bowl.

[manarak]

6 minutes ago, grumpy 4680 said:

     Inspite of all the Thai denials, there must be a reason why the medical labs suspect pad thai, the family are only stating what they may have been told. 

    Its not inconceivable that a parasite was picked up here, I've seen cooks wipe a used bowl with what I can only describe as a well used dish rag, before cooking another dish in the same bowl.

the claim doesn't resist basic logic.

*THINK*

[Lupatria]

2 hours ago, ThaiFelix said:

No the chilies were introduced by the early Portuguese and French I believe.

You are one inch away from being slammed by concerned netizens as a Thai basher for breaking the last straw ????

[DavisH]

4 hours ago, Soundspeed said:

If these two ever get sick from eating food in Australia where will they go to next? And would they " Never come back to Australia" again?

I think it is likely they didn't follow basic sensible hygiene when traveling like cleaning your hands before you eat. Personally I don't like to eat dishes which have been kept warm for a time and are ready to serve.  That goes for food in Australia too. I prefer to see my Phad Thai cooked in front of me. Street food has never caused me any problems in 30 years  of travel and living here but an American colleague ate a hotel hamburger on his first day because he thought western food is safer and spent the next three days in hospital.

Seems to me they are publicising their internet well being website. I wouldn't follow their advice.

 

The only two minor problems I've had in Thailand is with beef from a restaurant. Many Thais don't eat beef (my wife and son included), and thus the stock doesn't turn over that fast. If I have beef now, I will cook it myself at home. Even in those instances, I just had bouts of diahorrea; never hospitalised. The good thing about Thai food is that it does keep me reular lol