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

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

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?

Just to recap, the article appeared in the Chiang Rai Times but had a dateline of Bangkok.

However, NOWHERE in the article does it say where the family had traveled, where they were staying, where or what they had eaten lately, etc etc. Doesn't even mention the city or the hospital where the guy died.

There's so little info in the article that it kind of makes it difficult to have any opinion of whether the death was in fact from food poisoning, or some other cause that could equally well cause vomiting. Without any more useful info, it's total speculation.

After all, the authorities certainly wouldn't want anyone to actually be HELD RESPONSIBLE for the man's death, for heaven's sakes. Spoiled food, contaminated food, hotel insecticides, who knows. And that, probably, is the way the authorities like it.

[Enoon]

Best post so far has got to be:

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

"Where to now Cap'n?"

"Wherever the fancy takes you helmsman"

[Enoon]

Bit light on details of his death but not light on details on how to send money when he hasn't even been buried. Seems strange considering he has travel insurance and if he was in oz and passed away naturally would they still be asking to pass the hat around?

How about naming and shaming the restaurant and informing us what food was served and the actual cause of death after an autopsy.

Sunshine Coast Daily:

"Thankfully for the families Mr Tickell had taken out travel insurance beforehand and therefore the cost of flying his body home was covered."

"My aunty was quite against raising money as she hates it looking like she's asking for a handout, but I wanted to do this for her because a lot of people were asking how they could help and this is a central way for everyone to contribute towards the funeral and bill paying so that they have some time to grieve instead of having to go back to work"

Edited July 10, 2016 by Enoon

[Bullie]

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

I could not agree more. I've lived in Thailand for 9 years now, eating seafood on a daily basis - you name it, I've eaten it, never been sick one day.

Then again, we live by the seaside (fresh every morning at 3 a'clock! plus I or my wife cook it)

I would NEVER eat seafood in a restaurant in Thailand, main reason being that it's farmed seafood, and the handling proces is not certain.

I've seen fish. on a boat, in the baking sunlight for 3/5 hours on it's way to an island, unrefrigerated, being sold as "fresh" in the evening to unsuspecting tourists.

[ozyjon]

It's happened to me a few times,

in Thailand and Laos, do i know

the food sellers,, yes,, were they

to blame,,,no,,,i should have known

better,, follow your instincts.

The crapper and flat lemonade.

[starky]

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.

Not to question your story, but 20 litres (kg) in 24 hours? Nearly a kilogram an hour seems unlikely.

[geriatrickid]

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

Did those shrimp you consumed at the Amsterdam airport come from Thailand?

[tandor]

OK, I know Japan probably has very high food hygiene standards, but do you really think that no one it that big country has ever got sick from seafood.

...its a lottery..you never know which particular shellfish, fish, crustacean etc is full of bacteria...so many of them in one batch or one kilogram..you have to smell and examine each and every one of them whilst preparing..safe hygiene practices can only go part of the way.

(To prove a case of food poisoning is quite difficult in itself..you need the sample from the plate the person ate from ie shell remnants or juices..a sterile swab..samples from the restaurants kitchen or refrigerator..and then a fecal culture from the sick or deceased person for a microbiology culture to identify which particular bacterium it is and what strain so as the correct medication can be administered. (For eg. from memory Salmonella alone has about 23 different strains)...this culture can take up to 48 hours to get a result.

Of course all this happened rapidly and the chances of being able to find any supporting evidence from the restaurant are depleted.

It takes a lot of detective work to co-ordinate..interview each member who was sick..where they ate together as a group etc...it maybe they had food or drink from another place prior..so it in summary one has to be cautious to point the finger at any food outlet unless you have all the evidence.

It is the duty and responsibility of the countries Health Dept.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

It is the duty and responsibility of the countries Health Dept.

[mojorison]

Not all shellfish are seafood to state the obvious. Some live in ponds, swamps and some are even farmed... Some people have allergies to them. But if you eat any in Thailand they will cut your life short to some degree. I have banned my family from eating shells from the sea (gulf), because the water from to top bottom is septic. The levels of heavy metals although I haven't bothered to investigate would be unacceptably high. They farm huge radioactive oysters in the Tapi river estuary in Suratthani. Horrendous health risk. They happen to be a highly prized delicacy...

[dunroaming]

Well prawns are farmed in the rivers of Northern Thailand so no shortage of them. However undercooked chicken can also be a problem as can undercooked dog. It's all speculation. The worst case I had of food poisoning in Thailand was from McDonalds in Chiang Mai. In the land of smoke and mirrors we will never know the real facts

[dageurreotype]

Ah for christ's sake, over my twenty years here I've eaten every kind of shellfish imaginable, cooked and raw, and the only times I got seriously sick was at an Italian restaurant in Khao Lak (no seafood) and Kata Center (same).

I've given the heads up to visitors not to bother with health insurance either as a GoFundMe page will cover all expenses. Including 'stress'.

[american12bthai]

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

how about poisoned seafood caught by thai slave ships near the southchina sea. FYI, china dumped toxic chemicals there so no fisherman can work. the photos were pure evil. beached whales, dolphins, turtles, millions of sea life washed on shore... dead. and do you think slave ships care where the fish comes from? (no) do YOU care why seafood is cheap? (no)

seafood that i have witnessed tested containing levels of mercury that i dont want to touch ANY SEAFOOD.

[Guitar God]

In the beginning I was able to drink some liquids but they didn't stay down, after a while I couldn't even keep a sip of water down. The 20 liters was the size of the garbage can that I filled up in the 16-18 hours before my wife got there and called an ambulance.

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.

Not to question your story, but 20 litres (kg) in 24 hours? Nearly a kilogram an hour seems unlikely.