Frightening Reason for Unexplained Chiang Mai Deaths

[Guest fountainhall]

After a series of suspicious deaths at the Downtown Inn Hotel in Chiang Mai earlier this year, an independent investigation has found traces of a potentially lethal toxin that almost certainly indicates the deaths occurred as a result of poisoning.

 

Traces of chlorpyrifos, which is used to kill bedbugs but has been banned in other countries, have been found in samples that the New Zealand current affairs television show 60 Minutes had independently tested.

 

Sarah Carter, 23, died on Feb 6, and her friends Emma Langlands and Amanda Eliason became gravely ill while they were on holiday in the Downtown Inn Hotel in Chiang Mai.

 

Five people died from unexplained causes in Chiang Mai over a 16-day period after New Year. Four stayed at the Downtown Inn Hotel. A UN scientist, Ron McDowall, said there was a strong likelihood Carter died from excessive exposure to the substance, which causes identical symptoms to those suffered by the trio as well as several other tourists who died after staying at the hotel.

 

Most had myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart. Thai authorities have maintained the deaths were a coincidence.

 

Chiang Mai's head of public health Dr Surasing Visaruthrat also investigated the insecticide theory. "I'm not a specialist," he said. "But it's possible that they mixed together the wrong chemicals." The fact traces of chlorpyrifos were found three months after Carter's death and after the room was cleaned suggested the concentration was high.

 

"I think she has been killed by an overzealous sprayer who's been acting on the instructions of the hotel owner to deal with bed bugs," Mr McDowall said.

 

Even a slight mistake in the dosage of chlorpyrifos, which has been banned for indoor use in many countries, could be lethal, he said.

 

Mr McDowall checked his theory with other experts from New Zealand and Italy, who supported his belief.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/235994/lethal-bug-toxin-found-in-hotel

 

My thanks to gaybuttonthai.com for alerting readers to this article.

 

Since chlorpyrifos is not banned in Thailand, the concerns must surely be: how many other smaller hotels and guesthouses use this substance? How many more people have suffered a result of lower doses of the poison, perhaps believing they were suffering merely from food poisoning? And how many more people will die in future?

 

Surely it is time for Thailand to follow other countries and ban the use of chlorpyrifos NOW!

 

As background on chlorpyrifos, here is part of a wikipedia entry -

 

First registered in 1965 and marketed by Dow Chemical Company under the tradenames Dursban and Lorsban, chlorpyrifos was a well known home and garden insecticide, and at one time it was one of the most widely used household pesticides in the US. Facing impending regulatory action by the EPA, Dow agreed to withdraw registration of chlorpyrifos for use in homes and other places where children could be exposed, and severely restricted its use on crops. These changes took effect on Dec. 31, 2001.

 

It is still widely used in agriculture, and Dow continues to market Dursban for home use in developing countries. In Iran, Dow claims Dursban is safe for people, and its sales literature claimed Dursban has "an established record of safety regarding humans and pets."

 

In 1995, Dow was fined US$732,000 for not sending the EPA reports it had received on 249 Dursban poisoning incidents, and in 2003, Dow agreed to pay US$2 million - the largest penalty ever in a pesticide case - to the state of New York, in response to a lawsuit filed by the Attorney General to end Dow's illegal advertising of Dursban as "safe".

 

On July 31, 2007, a coalition of farmworker and advocacy groups filed a lawsuit against the EPA seeking to end agricultural use of the chlorpyrifos. The suit claims that the continued use of chlorpyrifos poses an unnecessary risk to farmworkers and their families.

 

In August 2007, Dow's Indian offices were raided by Indian authorities for allegedly bribing officials to allow chlorpyrifos to be sold in the country

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorpyrifos

 

Lastly, here is what a dose of the chemical can do to your body -

 

Chlorpyrifos is actually a neurotoxin and ingestion can cause a disruption in the transmission of nerve impulses. This can result in dizziness, headaches, loose motions, increased urination and salivation. When the ingestion is excessive, it could lead to paralysis, convulsions and even death. Chemicals like these are endocrine disruptors and their effects on the body can be disastrous as they also interfere with the regulated functioning of the hormonal system, making things run awry in the body.

http://www.chlorpyrifos.org/chlorpyrifos-the-health-dangers.php

[TotallyOz]

It is really scary that this is possible. I can't believe this could happen.

[KhorTose]

How much do you want to bet that no one gets prosecuted. What upsets me is that Agoda still carries the hotel and you can book there. I usually relay on Agoda, but now I really wonder. I did write Agoda a note.

 

Oh by the way Oogie posted this first at 09:50AM on Gay ting and tong, and the only reason the Bangkok Post bothered to post at all was because a NZ reporter did the work to discover what was going on, or people would still be dying.

[Guest fountainhall]

by the way Oogie posted this first at 09:50AM on Gay ting and tong, and the only reason the Bangkok Post bothered to post at all was because a NZ reporter did the work to discover what was going on, or people would still be dying.

Sorry, I don't read Gay ting and tong, and so I first saw it on gb's forum.

 

The hotel is still also featured on otel.com and laterooms.com

 

I suspect there may be more deaths - or certainly illnesses - if this poison is still being used in other hotels or guesthouses. What worries me is the comment at the end of the Bangkok Post article -

 

"I think she has been killed by an overzealous sprayer who's been acting on the instructions of the hotel owner to deal with bed bugs," Mr McDowall said.

What, I wonder, is difference between a casual spray and an "overzealous" spray? Will the former also kill? In future, I am going to ask what pesticides are used in hotels before I book - and hope I get an honest answer!

 

I wonder if anyone knows in which other Asian countries this pesticide is legal?

[Guest anonone]

Sorry, I don't read Gay ting and tong, and so I first saw it on gb's forum.

 

The hotel is still also featured on otel.com and laterooms.com

 

I suspect there may be more deaths - or certainly illnesses - if this poison is still being used in other hotels or guesthouses. What worries me is the comment at the end of the Bangkok Post article -

 

 

 

What, I wonder, is difference between a casual spray and an "overzealous" spray? Will the former also kill? In future, I am going to ask what pesticides are used in hotels before I book - and hope I get an honest answer!

 

Bolding mine....

 

That was my first thought, as I habitually stay at small guesthouses. I am not sure the effort is worth it as the staff / owner probably has no idea what type of chemicals are being used. Most would insist they have no bed bug problem at all that would need any type of chemical treatment, regardless of the actual truth.

 

I would bet this applies equally to a hotel of any size, though a major/upscale property might be more judicious in the vendor being used....maybe.

[Guest voldemar]

I vaguely remember that victims of Phi Phi island hotel complained about unusual smell in the rooms...You may recall that the reason for death was given as poisoning by local sweet potato roots or something like that...

It seems to me that all hotels are doing fuming of the rooms on regular basis.

E.g. I recall they did it in Cafe Royal during my stay several years ago... If the reason is so obvious why it took so long to discover that and what kind of F...cking idiots seem to be running everything in Thailand from hotels to forensic labs...

[Guest fountainhall]

This case gets ever more curious. I had not realised until tonight that the number of suspicious deaths relating to guests who stayed at or visited the Downtown Inn in January and February totals 7 -

 

Unnamed French woman aged between 23 and 33, reported to have died January 4, 2011 after using the facilities at The Downtown Inn.

Soraya Pandola, aged 33 from California, USA, January 11, 2011.

Bill Mah, aged 59, from Alberta, Canada, January 26, 2011.

Sarah Carter, aged 26, February 6, 2011.

Waraporn Pungmahisiranon, aged 47, a Thai tourist guide, February 7, 2011.

George and Eileen Everitt, aged 78 and 74, from Lincolnshire, UK, February 19, 2011

 

While people dying in hotels is not a phenomena, it’s doubtful if any other hotel in the world, apart from The Downtown Inn in Chiang Mai, has ever had such a run of guest deaths in such a short period of time before.

Perhaps more sinister, one newsblog site reflecting on the rumours swirling around Chiang Mai, states the following -

 

The fact that the owner of The Downtown Inn, former Chiang Mai mayor Boonlert Buranupakorn, is also reported to be the owner of several other hotels in Chiang Mai, in addition to shopping centers and a chain of high profile local restaurants, therefore making him an extremely influential person in the northern city, is adding as much fuel to the cover-up claim as the inability of Thailand forensic specialists to identify the causes.

http://photo-journ.com/lost-smiles-in-los-as-thailand-travel-tragedies-website-goes-live

 

The website also mentions the possible link to the deaths in Koh Phi Phi in 2009.

 

And it gives information of another website titled Thailand Travel Tragedies "set up to list all occurrences of fatalities or serious illness contracted while visiting Thailand" - although the site does not update the latest news.

 

http://www.thailandtraveltragedies.com/

[Bob]

Presuming the insecticide was indeed the cause of death, I have mixed feelings about blaming all of the deaths on the owner of the involved hotel. Once a pattern developed, I could blame the owner if no aggressive investigation occurred and I suppose a responsible owner might even have closed the place down pending a determination as to what caused the deaths.

 

But, this hotel, like thousands of private residences and businesses in Chiangmai, hire firms to spray monthly and I wonder how many of the owners are really competent to know what type of insecticide is being used let alone knowing how to monitor how the spraying is done. And, of course, there's the question of the competence of the people selling those services in the first place.

 

A good friend of mine has his townhouse sprayed monthly and, while he has the good sense to vacate the place during the spray job and for a few hours afterward, I'm doubtful if he has any clue what type of chemicals are being used or if the sprayers are applying it correctly or in the proper dosage. On the other hand, I will occasionally spot spray around the doors and patio of my townhouse and I have no clue what product I'm using (I just buy it at Topps, I know it works, and I just ignorantly presume that Topps wouldn't sell something too lethal).

[Guest]

Looks like Thailand could benefit from a truly free media in order to publicise such problems & bully their politicians into acting.

 

Guess we just need to use all the international websites to get the same result. Oddly, I could not find any direct references to this issue on Trip Advisor, which leads me to question how useful that site is.

[TotallyOz]

Guess we just need to use all the international websites to get the same result. Oddly, I could not find any direct references to this issue on Trip Advisor, which leads me to question how useful that site is.

 

I had a review pulled by TripAdvisor once as I wrote a very negative review. It was put up and when I went to check a few months later, it was gone. No e-mail or information was ever sent to me. I was not happy this was pulled without consultation.

[Guest]

Trip Advisor is no use whatsoever if they pull negative reviews & IF they suppress reports of little issues like multiple deaths.

 

I remember one grotty hotel in Istanbul where one member had posted a glowing 5 out of 5 review for everything. He had made one other very negative review on another hotel. Thanks to his picture, I identified him as the person from behind the reception desk. It still took several e-mails to get Trip Advisor to pull his fraudulent review.

 

Anyhow, we can take the opportunity to publicise this Chiang Mai incident on the Lonely Planet & Travel Fish forums (amongst others).

[Guest fountainhall]

Isn't this just typical!

 

Thai experts are unconvinced by an independent investigation which suggested that a 23-year-old New Zealand tourist died from excessive exposure to a lethal toxin used to kill bedbugs at a Chiang Mai hotel.

 

A toxic substances expert from the Public Health Ministry and the Department of Agriculture said they did not think chlorpyrifos - which is used in insecticide sprays - was the cause of the death of Sarah Carter . . .

 

Chiang Mai Public Health Office deputy chief Surasing Visaruthrat told the Bangkok Post that although the authorities had not yet ruled out all possible causes of the deaths, the bedbug insecticide assumption "carries little weight".

 

Thorough checks conducted by the doctors when the three tourists were admitted to the hospital found no traces of insecticides, he said . . . "We can't jump to a conclusion that toxin exposure was the cause of the death because the substance was allegedly found in the hotel room alone, not in the victim's body," Dr Surasing said.

Interestingly, the Bangkok Post article ends with a comment that rather indirectly suggests the opposite viewpoint.

 

Industrial Work Department's hazardous substances control bureau director Mongkol Pruekwatana said . . . "The company that used the substance for pest control services might have imported it as powder, mixed it with water and used it to spray termites, resulting in leftover residue on beds," Mr Mongkol said.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/236382/toxic-death-theory-carries-little-weight

 

It seems this chemical is widely used. I wonder if in this case too much might have been used in the mix and, rather than spraying on to the floor, the worker had sprayed it directly on to the beds? But the point about there allegedly being no toxic substances in the bodies seems odd - if true!