Family Holiday in Thailand Turns to Tragedy after Australian Father of Three Dies from Food Poisonin

[sanukjim]

Sad, sad story.. Horrible that a first overseas trip has to end like this.

Would be interested to hear more about the cause though, what did they ate? What was wrong with it which caused him to pass away?

Sounds like at that age he might have had other on going health problems.A heart attack seems more more likely .

[mcfish]

Everything should be considered IMO. This type of violent death is usually associated with a poison rather than food poising.

[natway09]

If the whole family ate the same dish then I do not believe just food poisoning

Sounds more like a severe allergic reaction to me.

eg, 500 people eat 5 peanuts each. 1 dies

[sirocco]

It is very sad and dramatic, the disappearance of this father.

But I find it indecent to appeal on social networks, the generosity of Internet users.

This is becoming a bad habit of doing the round that way.

Decidedly, the assistant has a bright future ahead of him.

[oldsailor35]

So many "TV Experts" blaming sea food. But no evidence whatsoever that they even ate seafood. I think they should be looking at the poisons used by pest control companies. This has killed on several occaisions in CM before this. However its usually 'hushed up' and never heard of again. Lets wait and see what the Aussie post mortem says !

[Bluespunk]

If the whole family ate the same dish then I do not believe just food poisoning

Sounds more like a severe allergic reaction to me.

eg, 500 people eat 5 peanuts each. 1 dies

They all got sick.

[Nearlynam]

If the whole family ate the same dish then I do not believe just food poisoning

Sounds more like a severe allergic reaction to me.

eg, 500 people eat 5 peanuts each. 1 dies

They all got sick.

That had already been pointed out by yourself and another poster before you and in the story. Read the thread before posting.

[F4UCorsair]

Not one for conspriracy theories, but does severe food posioning kill that quickly ? usually is dehyration that gets you with food posioning

Choking on his vomit?? Heart attacks during severe vomiting are also quite frequent occurrences.

Edited July 10, 2016 by F4UCorsair

[Kasset Tak]

what were they eating then, I guess shellfsih

Interesting that you say that.

I have flown on Air Asia many times over the years. In their in-flight magazine a pilot writes a column about his job. A few years ago he stated that most airlines in the world ban seafood from pilot's on-duty diets due to the heightened risk of food poisoning.

(I've never eaten seafood anyway, just don't fancy it, no matter how good someone tells me it is).

I know loads of people who have been eating seafood all their lives and have had no problems at all, so BS

I ate fried clams (hoy tad) for lunch last Wednesday, 2 o'clock I had diarrhea and fever that lasted for most of the night. Shellfish is dangerous, especially if its not fresh and the restaurant don't keep a 100% clean kitchen.

[Guitar God]

I contracted food poisoning here a few years ago, lost 20 liters of fluids in 24 hours, had renal failure and was hospitalized for a week on four different IV antibiotics. They tested for the five most common bacteria here and it wasn't any of them.

I rarely get sick, I recover fast when I do, I had shoulder surgery and was driving my 1600 cc motorcycle 48 hours later so I'm not frail bit I came very close to dying from some bad lobster or watermelon.

[Baerboxer]

what were they eating then, I guess shellfsih

Interesting that you say that.

I have flown on Air Asia many times over the years. In their in-flight magazine a pilot writes a column about his job. A few years ago he stated that most airlines in the world ban seafood from pilot's on-duty diets due to the heightened risk of food poisoning.

(I've never eaten seafood anyway, just don't fancy it, no matter how good someone tells me it is).

I know loads of people who have been eating seafood all their lives and have had no problems at all, so BS

I regularly eat shell fish, sea fish, freshwater fish, crabs, etc.

Never been seriously poisoned once. My mum was once. Left part of the lung of a crab in when cleaning it and ate it. The affects came on fairly quickly, couple of hours before she was vomiting profusely, and felt bad enough to got to bed. Emergency doctor was called and gave her couple of injections. She felt ill for a while but o k later the next day.

Any food can be poisonous if harmful bacteria is present. Also, he may have had a food allergy. Some of the ingredients here are very different and not obvious.

[Nasrullah]

Wow......never knew so many doctors posted on TV........absolutely incredible!!.......the heart-attack theory from vomitting is the best one

We don't know what he ate(and everyone for that matter)........All i can agree with is that shellfish is a no no,and seafood if u can call it that, be careful where u buy....

[KC 71]

Maybe pufferfish !

[KenKadz]

Incompetent reporting, no details, is this a scam?

[Thaidream]

It is possible to be poisoned in Thailand from mushrooms. It happened to me twice- the first time was life threatening- and I became so weak I almost could not walk. Luckily I knew what was happening and got antibiotics from the local pharmacy. The loss of body fluids causes amazing dehydration and near death. The mushrooms were in a soup and apparently not fully cooked. On both occasions i lost 7-8 kg in weight and felt the effects for almost a month but fully recovered.

[Bullie]

To start of with I want to say I feel really sorry for the guy.

But what is up with this begging for money so that "the family gan grief in peace"?

They state that the guy was the main breadwinner of the family. Maybe it would have been a good idea to secure your financial future by taking out some life-insurance, of have a well-filled piggybank instead of treating the family of 5 to an expensive holiday?

Altough they did have the responsibility to have travel insurance, protecting your only financial asset (i.e. the father) should have come first. I mean hey, the guy was 55, clearly overweight and could just as well have succumbed to a heartattack or clogged arteries.

On top of everything else, I would conclude from the picture that the children are not exactly in nappies. What's wrong with getting a job to help out the family - on top of anything else it might help to take your mind of the grieving.

Now I know this is a hard line to take but we all have setbacks in life. and where would the world be if we all went begging on the internet?

[Bluespunk]

To start of with I want to say I feel really sorry for the guy.

But what is up with this begging for money so that "the family gan grief in peace"?

They state that the guy was the main breadwinner of the family. Maybe it would have been a good idea to secure your financial future by taking out some life-insurance, of have a well-filled piggybank instead of treating the family of 5 to an expensive holiday?

Altough they did have the responsibility to have travel insurance, protecting your only financial asset (i.e. the father) should have come first. I mean hey, the guy was 55, clearly overweight and could just as well have succumbed to a heartattack or clogged arteries.

On top of everything else, I would conclude from the picture that the children are not exactly in nappies. What's wrong with getting a job to help out the family - on top of anything else it might help to take your mind of the grieving.

Now I know this is a hard line to take but we all have setbacks in life. and where would the world be if we all went begging on the internet?

A more caring, sharing, helpful place?

[Basil B]

I have had server "gastroenteritis" twice in Thailand, on both occasions after consuming oysters, on both occasions ordered by my then girl friends...

What I would like to point out on the second occasion after being sick and having server diarrhoea for over 12 hours my then girl friend persuaded me to go to a nearby clinic, that probably saved my life (if I had been on my own I would not have bothered to get help), the problem is for many of us is being in such a hot country we do not realise just how easy it is to dehydrate, if not dying one can certainly run the risk of kidney failure.

[SOTIRIOS]

...when and how will these scum balls ever be put in check......

..this is insane....

[northernphil]

what were they eating then, I guess shellfsih

Interesting that you say that.

I have flown on Air Asia many times over the years. In their in-flight magazine a pilot writes a column about his job. A few years ago he stated that most airlines in the world ban seafood from pilot's on-duty diets due to the heightened risk of food poisoning.

(I've never eaten seafood anyway, just don't fancy it, no matter how good someone tells me it is).

Just grabbed a book of the shelf here called ' Life in the skies '. Asia's best selling aviation book., and it mentions that seafood is avoided as it potentially could cause food poisoning , it also says the Captain and Flight Officer to not eat the same food. Hmm now there's food for thought.

[off road pat]

A little strange that only he was ill......or maybe we havn't got all the story.....

A sad end for his family.....

You didn't read the article did you ? "the family contracted an unknown illness on July , 2016."

[off road pat]

Yeah they all got ill as well, hence the food poisoning theory

They all probably spent time in the same rooms. Just as likely to be improperly used pesticides.

Two Canadian girls come to mind. Googling them up produces quite a few links to unexplained foreigner deaths in Thailand that are also suspected to be from poisoning by pesticides.

That was in Chiang Mai,..and the hotel was demolished, shortly after, insecticides spray were blamed but the quick demolition of the hotel made some people suspect Legionella disease was involved !?!?! bad for tourism, hence the quick destruction of the evidence...

Regards.

[berybert]

My first holiday in Bangkok ended with my getting food poisioning. I didnt leave my hotel for the last 3 or 4 days of my trip. I didnt feel ill but had no energy and spent time either shytin thru the eye of a needle or laying on my bed, couldnt even keep liquid down.

The only reason I left the hotel was because I had to get my plane. No need to worry about following thru by then as I was completely empty inside.

Lost 14ibs in 4 days. So that was good.

[TKDfella]

Now, I'm poking in the dark here, as it were. If all members became ill too but suffered less I wonder if the father had an allergic reaction too, hence the violent vomiting. If the cause was only food poisoning then toxins either released by the micro organism or direct from toxic fungi/pesticides etc seem to have reacted rather quickly (although no time line is suggested in the OP). But I wonder if the father had a natural allergic condition or perhaps had taken some medication prior to eating. Would be interesting to know.

My condolences to the family and father R.I.P

[waldroj]

A terrible story, and so typical of Thai reporting - very poorly written.

Who, what, when, where, why, and how?

Simple questions, that if asked by the reporter, may have gone a long way to explaining the circumstances without the need for speculation.

Where did it happen? What was he eating?

[ggt]

If fish smells of fish it is starting to rot.

This method works well when deciding whether or not to take the lovely lady home with you...

[Prbkk]

Consuming shellfish, including mussels, clams, oysters, is asking for trouble. I don't eat those things anywhere and certainly wouldn't even dream of it in Thailand. Thousands do with no ill effect but I am reminded of my friend who used to brag about his cast iron stomach and how he could eat any street food...and did....until he was struck down with acute arthritic inflammatory syndrome from eating mussels/clams. Extreme pain, for MONTHs and it took a year before he could walk normally. Then, 35 years ago , a fit and healthy 30 something. Bangkok Soi food.

[p_brownstone]

Everyone - well, most people - can react differently to new foods, or perhaps even "known" foods not properly cooked

Not wishing to claim a title as the "Iron Stomach Farang" but after nearly 45 years here and having eaten almost everything on offer in virtually every Province I can honestly say that my absolute worst Food Poisoning experience was in an Airport Hotel in Amsterdam after eating seafood (shrimps as I recall).

A REALLY bad experience for me, severe stomach cramps and frequent visits to the toilet all night.

I have never, ever, had a similar problem anywhere in Thailand; an occasional day of loose bowels, that's it at most.

This scenario of collapsing at the table and "vomiting to death" seems very strange to say the least.

Patrick

[rainman333]

since we are talking about bad seafood, let's hope it wasn't from China... ala this video.....

https://www.facebook.com/naturalbodybuilder/videos/1204529626259064/?pnref=story

[dageurreotype]

Now, I'm poking in the dark here, as it were. If all members became ill too but suffered less I wonder if the father had an allergic reaction too, hence the violent vomiting. If the cause was only food poisoning then toxins either released by the micro organism or direct from toxic fungi/pesticides etc seem to have reacted rather quickly (although no time line is suggested in the OP). But I wonder if the father had a natural allergic condition or perhaps had taken some medication prior to eating. Would be interesting to know.

My condolences to the family and father R.I.P

Quite possibly not for the first time.