this post was submitted on 22 Nov 2024
184 points (99.5% liked)

World News

39096 readers
2734 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News !news@lemmy.world

Politics !politics@lemmy.world

World Politics !globalpolitics@lemmy.world


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Summary

Holly Bowles, a 19-year-old Australian, has become the sixth foreign tourist to die from suspected methanol poisoning in Laos.

She and her friend Bianca Jones fell ill in Vang Vieng, a popular backpacking town, after reportedly consuming tainted alcohol, which can be lethal even in small amounts.

Other victims include a British lawyer, an American man, and two Danish women. Methanol, often found in bootleg or home-distilled alcohol, is believed to be the cause.

Authorities are investigating, with the manager of the hostel where free shots were served detained for questioning.

all 14 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Brunbrun6766@lemmy.world 65 points 8 hours ago (2 children)

Feel like this needs to be said. If they weren't pretty young blonde women from Australia, this wouldn't be hitting the headlines as much as it is

[–] Cheradenine@sh.itjust.works 14 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Yes, this happens with some regularity. Usually during wedding season (dry season) and at large funerals. The reason it's in the news is what you said.

Search any of the local news sites for 'alcohol poisoning' in Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and you will have a lot of results.

[–] Geobloke@lemm.ee 3 points 3 hours ago

Why wouldn't the bbc and Australian media cover the deaths by misfortune of citizens from their home country

[–] lennybird@lemmy.world 13 points 7 hours ago

Also goes for stories covering children, too.

As an aside, I always wondered if the opposite rings true in countries where the minority is white. Ethnocentrism?

[–] cheese_greater@lemmy.world 13 points 9 hours ago (3 children)

Isnt the antidote actual ethanol?

[–] Maalus@lemmy.world 32 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Yes, but you need to drink untainted alcohol in huge quantities to give your liver something to do instead of killing you. When you don't know, you drink in moderation, or worse each following drink has more methanol in it. You might be fucked before you even realize what's going on, and even with a doctor in the room it's not immediately obvious what's happening.

[–] cheese_greater@lemmy.world 3 points 9 hours ago (1 children)
[–] Maalus@lemmy.world 4 points 6 hours ago

Yeah methanol poisoning is no joke. Huge warning signs on cisterns saying "contaminated with methanol" yet people will still try to steal it for drinking and end up blind or dead. Usually doesn't make the news since yaknow, stupidity and ignoring obvious warning signs.

[–] perestroika@lemm.ee 22 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

The preferred antidote is fomepizole together with hemodialysis.

Fomepizole works by blocking the enzyme that converts methanol and ethylene glycol to their toxic breakdown products.[4]

[–] Fuck_u_spez_@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Didn't hospitals just used to keep a bottle of whiskey in the med supply closet before this stuff was developed?

[–] Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 3 points 3 hours ago

Any poison can be medicine at the right dose and any medicine can be a poison at the wrong dose. There's probably a very long list of aliments that ethanol can treat.

[–] Kazumara@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) (2 children)

I heard of it as an emergency stopgap measure until you can make it to the hospital to get pumped out and properly treated. But it's been a while, I could misremember

[–] Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 3 points 3 hours ago

You can stomach pump some out, but it's not going to grab anything that's already in your blood stream. Ethanol is still used as an internal treatment for methanol poisoning.