NZ woman in Thailand food poisoning death

**Toptuan** · 09-02-2011, 06:58 PM

Originally Posted by sabang

Not wishing to rain on your parade Bob but....hygiene standards here are ....still miles ahead of Cambo, Indon, Nepal & India. There was a big campaign to improve them in Thailand some years back, which appears to have helped a lot.

Not to rain on YOUR parade, Sabang, but the below article rates Thailand as the 3rd worst country in the world for a common traveler's disease, which is almost always the result of poor sanitation practices.

In this study, Thailand rates worse than Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal, and all of Africa. Read it and weep (while on the toilet)....

Travelers' disease study

**DroversDog** · 09-02-2011, 07:14 PM

Originally Posted by Toptuan

Originally Posted by sabang

Not wishing to rain on your parade Bob but....hygiene standards here are ....still miles ahead of Cambo, Indon, Nepal & India. There was a big campaign to improve them in Thailand some years back, which appears to have helped a lot.

Not to rain on YOUR parade, Sabang, but the below article rates Thailand as the 3rd worst country in the world for a common traveler's disease, which is almost always the result of poor sanitation practices.

In this study, Thailand rates worse than Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal, and all of Africa. Read it and weep (while on the toilet)....

Travelers' disease study

The link does not work for me....

The 2 time I have had food poisoning in Thailand was from eating at a large seafood restaurant. I have never had a problem from eating from the street vendors.

**the dogcatcher** · 09-02-2011, 08:18 PM

I always suspect some restaurants turn their fridges off at night.
I have never been poisoned from street food, but plenty of time from farang restaurants run by Thai wives.

**sunsetter** · 09-02-2011, 08:20 PM

Originally Posted by DroversDog

The link does not work for me....

same here

**terry57** · 09-02-2011, 08:30 PM

Originally Posted by the dogcatcher

I have never been poisoned from street food,

I've eaten Street food from Bali to China and numerous counties in between.

Use an ounce of brain and go for the carts where all the punters are eating, can never go wrong as the food turns over quickly.

Unfortunately this young girl was very unlucky and got caught out.

Terrible for her family.

FarangRed · 09-02-2011, 08:40 PM

Originally Posted by the dogcatcher

I always suspect some restaurants turn their fridges off at night.
I have never been poisoned from street food, but plenty of time from farang restaurants run by Thai wives.

Thats a Thai trick turning fridges off at night, where we used to live a while ago and there was a shop out the back that used to open early like 6am and many time a catch her taking the quilt of the fridge in the morning, I used to take the piss and get ice cream it was soft and throw it back

**teddy** · 09-02-2011, 08:44 PM

so where did they eat?

**billy the kid** · 10-02-2011, 03:09 AM

was she the first to get sick ?
wasn't anyone aware of this on the market ?
did it need to be boiled first before eating ?
tragic indeed for all concerned.
RIP.

**dirtydog** · 10-02-2011, 04:27 AM

People don't go to Chiang Mai to eat seaweed or seafood, it's quite far from the sea.

**LooseBowels** · 10-02-2011, 05:38 AM

its just one terrible death after another in this third world shithole.
When are international communities going to start putting out warning notices to their citizens about going to thailand, and ending up just another unsolved death statistic.
blokes "jumping" from condos, young lads getting sucked into hotel swimming pool drains, floaters in the sea, live fire zones, the whole fcuking place wants razing, along with all the despots , and start again.
I'd be chief boomboomer

**sabang** · 10-02-2011, 08:06 AM

Originally Posted by DroversDog

The link does not work for me....

This link works-
Relax - Top places travellers get diarrhoea

Better still, heres a link to the actual survey-
http://www.hpa.org.uk/web/HPAwebFile.../1287146380314

The study puts Thailand 3rd behind Egypt & India for rates of diarrhoea contracted per 100,000 visitors. No surprlses about India, but Indonesia, Cambo and Nepal do not appear as individual countries on the survey. Los running in at 3rd is a pretty dire performance though.

Bottom line is, I eat food at markets & street stalls here quite regularly. I would never do so in India, and I doubt I would in Indon or Nepal. Certainly can't argue with the survey itself, but it's a pity it doesn't individually consider less visited countries. There is also the aspect of travellers behaviour- a backpacker that quite regularly eats street food in Thailand, for example, would he do the same in India or Indonesia?

I've long since developed an 'Asian stomach', having lived in the region 17 years. The same street or market food I happily ingest on a regular basis might well give a visitor the runs- thats certainly not unique to Thailand, it was no different in HK. I have no science to back this up, but plenty of anecdotal evidence from other expats- the serious cases of food poisoning you encounter (thankfully rare) are not usually from street vendors in Thailand, or HK for that matter. I put this simply down to the fact they turn over their stock quickly, rather than any argument that they have better standards of hygiene. The real nasty stuff needs a while to fester I would guess.

**genghis61** · 10-02-2011, 08:09 AM

Doctors not sure if Thai seafood to blame

HAPPIER TIMES: Victoria University friends from left, Amanda Eliason, Sarah Carter (deceased), and Emma Langlands at a Law Society Ball.

The Taranaki survivor of a horror meal in Thailand still does not know what it was that killed her friend and left her own life hanging in the balance.

Early reports said that eating toxic seaweed had cost Sarah Carter, 23, her life and made Kaponga's Amanda Eliason, 24, and a third travel companion, Emma Langlands, 23, violently ill.

But doctors are not convinced the seafood dish was to blame and are hoping further tests will eventually determine the cause.

Speaking to the Taranaki Daily News from her hospital bed in northern Thailand last night, Ms Eliason said all three had eaten dinner at a food market late last week and began vomiting early the next morning.

"By 10.30am we called hotel reception and they said they would arrange for a doctor to come and see us.

"Sarah and Emma were put on an IV (intravenous drip) to rehydrate but the doctor couldn't find a vein for me, so I was given an injection instead."

She said the vomiting stopped for four hours but by late afternoon they were all ill again.

"After getting back in touch with the doctor we were told to go to hospital and by 1am on Friday morning we were all in hospital."

Ms Eliason eventually needed heart surgery to assist her recovery but doctors lost the battle to save Ms Carter.

Ms Langlands was not as badly affected by the poisoning.

Ms Eliason said she was moved from intensive care to a general ward in the Chiang Mai Ram Hospital yesterday and was hopeful of being discharged in the next few days.

Her parents, Peter and Kay Eliason, are at her bedside, which she said had made a huge difference.

"I've had heaps of messages of support and I can't explain how lucky I've been with the care I've had in the hospital. The doctors and nurses have been here for me every step of the way.

"I just got moved into a general ward and will hopefully be with Emma, as we're likely to be discharged at the same time.

"Hopefully we'll both be on flights home next week."

Ms Eliason expects to undergo long-term check-ups when she comes home.

"The cardiologist over here said I am at about 95 per cent of my recovery at this stage, so I guess that's good news."

**StrontiumDog** · 10-02-2011, 11:28 AM

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/loca...oisoning-scare

Chiang Mai fears food poisoning scare

NZ woman dies after eating toxic seaweed

Published: 10/02/2011 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News

Chiang Mai health authorities are launching a full-scale investigation of food outlets across the northern province after a young New Zealand woman died from a viral infection believed to have come from eating toxic seaweed.

Carter: Contracted a viral infection

Sarah Katherine Carter, 23, died early on Sunday morning at Chiang Mai Ram Hospital. A friend, Amanda Eliason, 24, who also ate the seaweed underwent emergency heart surgery and is now believed to be out of danger.

A third New Zealand woman in their group, Emma Langlands, 23, who ordered a different meal from a stall in a food market at Chiang Mai's Night Bazaar, suffered food poisoning but is not seriously ill.

"We have never had such a case in Chiang Mai before," Chiang Mai public health chief Wattana Kanchanakamol said yesterday.

He said a preliminary report into the death of Carter indicated a viral infection.

Dr Wattana said epidemiologists were ordered to track down the cause of the infection by collecting food samples from the Night Bazaar food market where it is thought the women last ate.

"The examination result is expected to be known in the next five days," he said.

Dr Wattana said one factor in the case could be the fluctuating weather conditions in Chiang Mai, which could result in food deteriorating more rapidly than expected.

Health officials were being sent to other tourist attractions around Chiang Mai to carry out food hygiene tests.

Carter's devastated father Richard told the website stuff.co.nz the hospital had called when his daughter was admitted and he had talked to her.

"It appeared to be just bad food poisoning. She appeared withdrawn and not sounding that good, but seemed all right. But within an hour of our conversation the thing just spread to her heart and strangled her heart."

At that stage his wife was in transit at Suvarnabhumi airport and he had to call her with the news.

Richard Carter told a news channel his daughter had the world at her feet and wanted to start an overseas trip in Thailand after having just graduated from university.

"[Sarah] touched the hearts of all the people that she came in contact with, a truly remarkable girl. We were just so proud of her achievements," he said.

Sarah called her parents the night she fell ill to reassure them she was okay. But within an hour of that call, a toxin spread rapidly to her heart and killed her shortly afterwards.

Sarah studied chemistry at Victoria University in Wellington and had been working at Wellington accounting firm BDO Spicers for the past year.

Her friend, Amanda Eliason, from Kaponga in the province of Taranaki, underwent emergency surgery on Saturday when the toxin attacked her heart.

Her parents, Peter and Kay, flew to Thailand on Monday."The balloon pump that was attached to her heart has now been removed and the cardiologist is now happy that she has no permanent damage to her heart," Kay Eliason said.

"We have our daughters, so we're the lucky ones really," she said.

**nigelandjan** · 10-02-2011, 12:37 PM

Christ what an education ,, have eaten there many times but will never touch this stuff .

One thing seems strange to me that only 3 people seem to be affected

**harrybarracuda** · 10-02-2011, 12:42 PM

Originally Posted by dirtydog

People don't go to Chiang Mai to eat seaweed or seafood, it's quite far from the sea.

Balderdash and poppycock, there are some great seafood restaurants in Chiang Mai.

**Poo and Pee** · 10-02-2011, 01:18 PM

so was it seaweed or sea bass??

**taffyapple** · 10-02-2011, 02:20 PM

could be the weather is to blame bull shit.

**Tom Sawyer** · 10-02-2011, 02:33 PM

Originally Posted by Poo and Pee

so was it seaweed or sea bass??

Either way it means sea bass is off the menu for me now - a shame as I love it. Thinking back a few weeks ago, I was very ill for around a week and believe I may have eaten sea bass a day or two before the prolonged illness. But who knows, it might have been caused by any number of things..

How can anyone ever be sure?

**Poo and Pee** · 10-02-2011, 02:50 PM

^ you are right. it's best to avoid both.

i hope they explain what kind of seaweed, and what dishes or fishes may contain it.

there are many types of edible seaweeds..

**harrybarracuda** · 10-02-2011, 03:31 PM

A third New Zealand woman in their group, Emma Langlands, 23, who ordered a different meal from a stall in a food market at Chiang Mai's Night Bazaar, suffered food poisoning but is not seriously ill.

Is that the Kalare food court do you think?

**Frankenstein** · 10-02-2011, 04:43 PM

Originally Posted by dirtydog

People don't go to Chiang Mai to eat seaweed or seafood, it's quite far from the sea.

True. But for a city so far away from the sea, it has a huge number of places that sell seafood dishes. Both upscale and not so upscale estasblishments. The locals love the stuff.

Dr Wattana said one factor in the case could be the fluctuating weather conditions in Chiang Mai, which could result in food deteriorating more rapidly than expected.

Ehm.

Is that the Kalare food court do you think?

Kalare is the most likely one. There's a chance they might be referring to Anusarn market, too. But it is not really a food court, so probably Kalare.

**harrybarracuda** · 10-02-2011, 05:02 PM

Kalare is the most likely one. There's a chance they might be referring to Anusarn market, too. But it is not really a food court, so probably Kalare.

Great seafood in Anusarn, I eat there all the time. Not seaweed though.

**BobR** · 10-02-2011, 05:10 PM

One can only hope that some quality news source follows up on this and reports the results of the autopsy. For anyone that bothers to think about it; reporting the exact cause down to the smallest detail does a lot more than satisfy people's curiousity, it helps prevent more victims.

The article said the victims's family wanted to keep information confidential, but considering how this appears to have happened, the public interest in letting people know how it happened and therefore what to avoid should override their wishes.

**harrybarracuda** · 10-02-2011, 05:37 PM

I got asked if there'll be any repercussions for the food vendor; my only reply was that it will cost them a few quid to pay off the health inspectors.

**billy the kid** · 10-02-2011, 05:45 PM

learnt my lesson in laos
only eat where the turn-over is constant
never in a restaurant that has no customers
if i stay some place i will shop around and then stick with it.
have used food stalls without a problem by using caution
there are quite a few cases in asia where what you eat can
truly mess up your whole system where even operations need to be performed.
salads can be dodgy also.

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