Mystery Death Of British Tourist Sparks E Coli Alarm In Thailand

[SantiSuk]

How do you die from acute diarrhea.. i've had it for years and it's never gone away. Those people are really weak or what?

Lots of people appear to suffer from various forms of oral dysentery which tends not to kill. However acute diarrhea actually kills thousands of people worldwide on an annual basis. The moral in Thailand is watch where you eat ---- no matter how long you've been here -- hygiene does not appear a high prioroty in many markets/restaurants.

Years ago my now ex wife and I both got food poisoning in Cairo, Egypt. She got it while on the plane to Luxor where we were planning on visiting the Valley of the Kings and I got it around 12 hours later. We were so weak we could do nothing for several days, in my wife's case, not to even leave the room to go out to the pool area. What we got was dysentery, not diarrhea as both of us had no control over our bowels whatsoever. You'd just lie there shitting in your pants while lying in bed. The cure was antibiotics.

So where did we get it? From the Cairo Nile Hilton Hotel wondrous buffet where they had all these terrific salads and vichyousse soup made from leeks, onions, potatoes, cream etc. The way I understood it is flies were allowed to settle down on fruits and vegetables, meat etc in the market and to lay their eggs. And of course the Hilton Hotel got a lot of its food stock from the market. What surprises me is although I've had my share of diarrhea here in Thailand I've never had anything remotely close to being as debilitating as what I got in Egypt. And I've been living here for six years now.

Agreed - Nile belly is one of the worst in the world - knocks most stuff you pick up in Thailand into a cocked hat

[sandgroper2]

Yet another mystery death in LOS. RIP

Suicide, for sure.

[arthurwait]

How do you die from acute diarrhea.. i've had it for years and it's never gone away. Those people are really weak or what?

You dehydrate very quickly, your body functions fail because of the lack of water, you die very quickly. Particularly, in very hot weather such as it is common in Thailand. The most essential substance for living is water and well, what do you lose in case of severe diarrhea? Live is simple and so is death although there is always a big fuss about it.

You can buy it in bottles these days, you don't need a well.

[tragickingdom]

If someone dies, Thai authorities always are first to find a reason to point their finger elsewhere. What about all those people dying in China and Hongkong? It is just as unlikely as a Briton that got E-coli from Hamburg Germany.

[SICHONSTEVE]

Yet another mystery death in LOS. RIP

Suicide, for sure.

YOU are a sad case my friend!!!! How original, is that all you've got to offer???? I bet you live a very interesting life full of cerebral stimulation and fun filled activities (not)

[Card]

Diarrhoea is just a load of crap.

[SICHONSTEVE]

How do you die from acute diarrhea.. i've had it for years and it's never gone away. Those people are really weak or what?

You dehydrate very quickly, your body functions fail because of the lack of water, you die very quickly. Particularly, in very hot weather such as it is common in Thailand. The most essential substance for living is water and well, what do you lose in case of severe diarrhea? Live is simple and so is death although there is always a big fuss about it.

You can buy it in bottles these days, you don't need a well.

I think that you have taken the word 'well' out of context - he wasn't referring to a physical well but using it to mean 'alright'!!!

[hellodolly]

How do you die from acute diarrhea.. i've had it for years and it's never gone away. Those people are really weak or what?

I smell a troll

[Rama]

Having acute diarrhea for a long time is not normal. Dying happens all the time, even now, from acute bacterial dysentery. Even now, you can read in Indian newspapers where a remote village drinks bad water and 20-30 people die from bacterial dysentery because they don't have access to antibiotics. Anytime you have severe diarrhea with fever, it's probably bacterial dysentery and you need to start antibiotics immediately.

Having long term diarrhea with no fever is not normal. The main culprits could be one of the following 1) amoebic dysentery (not bacterial dysentery) 2) intestinal parasites (besides the infamous tape worm there are numerous other small parasites that can infect the human gut), 3) food allergies 4) constant diarrhea can deplete the good bacteria in your system. 1 and 2 can be cured with antibiotics. 4 can be cured by buying "good bacteria" in a pharmacy. Many Thai pharmacies sell. Not expensive. It repopulates the number of good bacteria in your gut. Living with long term diarrhea without fixing leads to severe problems in the long run.

Everyone has e coli in the lower intestines. It's when it gets into other parts of the body that it becomes dangerous. Not washing your hands and touching food, especially if you clean yourself in the toilet asian style can easily cause the spread of it.

Edited June 22, 2011 by Rama

[johncat1]

Typical smokescreen tactics. E. Coli my arse, excuse the pun.

YES my sentiments exactly.

Thais will always look for someone or something else to blame rather than admit the truth It was probably caused by bad hygiene control or trying not to waste food from the previous day.

[hellodolly]

Typical smokescreen tactics. E. Coli my arse, excuse the pun.

YES my sentiments exactly.

Thais will always look for someone or something else to blame rather than admit the truth It was probably caused by bad hygiene control or trying not to waste food from the previous day.

Or he did not wash his hands before eating.

[BlueSmurf]

. . . ."Meanwhile, an investigator, Police Lieutenant Veerachon Khonthai, who had conducted the investigation into the death of Daniel, developed acute diarrhoea on Monday night after eating at a restaurant in Udon Thani.". . .

Which restaurant?

Pay up or your restaurant will be named!

[BlueSmurf]

Having acute diarrhea for a long time is not normal. Dying happens all the time, even now, from acute bacterial dysentery. Even now, you can read in Indian newspapers where a remote village drinks bad water and 20-30 people die from bacterial dysentery because they don't have access to antibiotics. Anytime you have severe diarrhea with fever, it's probably bacterial dysentery and you need to start antibiotics immediately.

Having long term diarrhea with no fever is not normal. The main culprits could be one of the following 1) amoebic dysentery (not bacterial dysentery) 2) intestinal parasites (besides the infamous tape worm there are numerous other small parasites that can infect the human gut), 3) food allergies 4) constant diarrhea can deplete the goood bacteria in your system. 1 and 2 can be cured with antibiotics. 4 can be cured by buying "good bacteria" in a pharmacy. Many Thai pharmacies sell. Not expensive. It repopulates the number of good bacteria in your gut. Living with long term diarrhea without fixing leads to severe problems in the long run.

Everyone has e coli in the lower intestines. It's when it gets into other parts of the body that it becomes dangerous. Not washing your hands and touching food, especially if you clean yourself in the toilet asian style can easily cause the spread of it.

Good post...Informative and correct.Now please go and teach the Thais about washing their hands. Washing hands comes next to vaccines as being the biggest step man made after coming down from the trees...Sorry the biggest step even bigger than the Americans not landing on the moon!

[johncat1]

Typical smokescreen tactics. E. Coli my arse, excuse the pun.

YES my sentiments exactly.

Thais will always look for someone or something else to blame rather than admit the truth It was probably caused by bad hygiene control or trying not to waste food from the previous day.

Or he did not wash his hands before eating.

Or maybe he did wash his hands with untreated water

Or maybe he was playing around with a bar girl's p............. before he ate.

Or maybe the plate / cutlery was dirty .

The list goes on and on

But is is all about hygiene and correct food storage and cooking.

So many restaurants just hang up the cooked meat with NO refrigeration all day and evening.

[janderton]

. . . ."Meanwhile, an investigator, Police Lieutenant Veerachon Khonthai, who had conducted the investigation into the death of Daniel, developed acute diarrhoea on Monday night after eating at a restaurant in Udon Thani.". . .

Which restaurant?

perharps one (of the many) operating without licence,

or owned by policeman's mia noi,

or owned by a former city mayor (as on the case of chiangmai hotel)

[johncat1]

Yet another mystery death in LOS. RIP

Another coincidence, case closed

These RIP posts and suicide, coincidence etc: posts are just so irrelevant and boring it makes me want to puke!!!!

There is simply no substance, genuine heartfelt sincerity or justification with, or for them!!

Please write something interesting that has injected a bit of thought into what your take is on the matter than wish the family of the deceased your condolences and the like as they are NEVER going to read it and it's not as if you are a prime minister or king or anything expressing your sorrow to the nation, is it, so why do it???

Many of the posters are bored farangs that sit around all the time with nothing else to do or think about except when they will get their next bottle of Chang.

[geriatrickid]

How do you die from acute diarrhea.. i've had it for years and it's never gone away. Those people are really weak or what?

Dehydration. Brings on low blood pressure and core organ failure. The diarrhea that is being referenced is the very liquid form. The digestive tract shuts down.

[farangbanok]

In Hong Kong some years ago I contracted what I was told was a "mild" form of dysentery. Even Immodium passed straight through with the capsule intact!

I had eaten a salad at a very high class hotel on Hong Kong island ! No more raw green stuff for me now. If I eat even a sliver of lettuce I get the runs within an hour. Psychosomatic ? Probably!

I lived on the pan and drank a lot of electrolyte drinks for about 4 days. When I started to pee again and the Immodium stayed in long enough to dissolve I knew I was improving.

As many of the previous posters have said dehydration is the killer. 5 Baht for a sachet of Oreda several times each day is a dam_n cheap way to stay alive.

I regularly eat from pavement shops and stalls here in Khon Kaen and I have never had a stomach upset. I eat white cabbage, mint and basil salads with no problem also.

[KRS1]

How do you die from acute diarrhea.. i've had it for years and it's never gone away. Those people are really weak or what?

You have not had acute diarrhea. Acute means18 out of 24 hours you have severe cramps that immobilize you and only water comes out that end. Your body becomes dehydrated within 2 to 4 days. And if not treated properly by a doctor and fluids. you die.

i've had that quite a few times and wanted to die just from the pain. It's like needles come and poke you in the stomache every 10 minutes and goes away.

Shitting to death is a shitty way to go.

For newcomers, lexinor and charcoal tablets are your friend.

[Bkkorupcountry]

Oh dear, all this talk about poor Thai hygiene has gotten me real worried. Should I restrict myself to just eating in 5 star hotels? Do the chefs, waiters/waitresses wash their hands there? I guess there aren't any 5 star hotels in Isaan either considering that it seems so backwards so should I avoid going to Isaan?

[pogal]

The deadly strain involves internal bleeding. Very different from normal cases of diarrhea.

If you see blood in your diarrhea you can be pretty sure you have this deadly European strain.

[mackayae]

Sritrakarn Hotel, Udon. Across from the downtown bus station. Rooms 200-390 baht. I don't believe they have a restaurant.

[farangbanok]

In reply to Bkkorupcountry - don't worry in E-sarn.

I regularly eat from pavement shops and stalls here in Khon Kaen and I have never had a stomach upset. I eat white cabbage, mint and basil salads with no problem also.

I should add that even the water at opposite ends off UK can 'loosen things up' for me, so E-sarn food seems OK.

[pdrhan]

How do you die from acute diarrhea.. i've had it for years and it's never gone away. Those people are really weak or what?

If you´ve had it for years - i strongly suggest you visit a doctor ASAP....think of your surroundings......with all that shit....maybe you are a strong man?

[SICHONSTEVE]

Many of the posters are bored farangs that sit around all the time with nothing else to do or think about except when they will get their next bottle of Chang.

Sounds about right!!!!! Although Thai whiskey might be nearer the mark as it works that much quicker!!

Edited June 22, 2011 by SICHONSTEVE

[hellodolly]

Typical smokescreen tactics. E. Coli my arse, excuse the pun.

YES my sentiments exactly.

Thais will always look for someone or something else to blame rather than admit the truth It was probably caused by bad hygiene control or trying not to waste food from the previous day.

Or he did not wash his hands before eating.

Or maybe he did wash his hands with untreated water

Or maybe he was playing around with a bar girl's p............. before he ate.

Or maybe the plate / cutlery was dirty .

The list goes on and on

But is is all about hygiene and correct food storage and cooking.

So many restaurants just hang up the cooked meat with NO refrigeration all day and evening.

Now you are just being ridicules. If you were correct it would not matter if he did not wash his hands if he was playing with a bar girl's pu At some point people have to take some of the responsibility. If it was the restaurants fault why have we not heard of many other cases.

[mrdjt]

Condolences to the family, a sad shock it must have been.

I've been spending 3-4 months a year in Thailand since 2000. Eat on the roadside every day. Had one bout of gastro years ago, but early this year had two bouts in the same month.

that really surprised me, so then I got to thinking of the flooding last year and am wondering whether the water supply has been degraded. Not that I drink tap water of course, but that's what the food is washed and cooked in.

[SICHONSTEVE]

Condolences to the family, a sad shock it must have been.

I've been spending 3-4 months a year in Thailand since 2000. Eat on the roadside every day. Had one bout of gastro years ago, but early this year had two bouts in the same month.

that really surprised me, so then I got to thinking of the flooding last year and am wondering whether the water supply has been degraded. Not that I drink tap water of course, but that's what the food is washed and cooked in.

I don't think you need to worry about the quality of the water it's washed in and definitely not in the cooking of food. However, if they are using dodgy water to make ice -cubes to eak out a bit more profit then that is a different matter altogether!!!!

Edited June 22, 2011 by SICHONSTEVE

[mrdjt]

Uh Oh - Drank a lot of iced lemon tea that time - Cheers, Amigo - I really should have known better !

[HereIAm]

Could this outbreak of E Coli in the West also be blamed on poor standards of hygiene / public health / etc in the third world ?