Australia issues travel warning for Laos following methanol poisonings

Australia has updated its official advice for the Southeast Asian country Laos after a suspected mass methanol poisoning with two Aussie victims.

Australia is advising travellers to be alert when consuming spirits in Laos after five people, including two young Australian women, died in a suspected mass methanol poisoning in the tourist town of Vang Vieng.

A group of backpackers allegedly consumed alcoholic drinks spiked with the chemical before falling ill, but it is not yet known where the contaminated drinks were sold.

Melbourne teenagers Bianca Jones, 19, and Holly Bowles, also 19, tragically lost their lives while on the trip of a lifetime in Southeast Asia.

Two Danish women, an American man and British woman – lawyer Simone White – have also died.

19-year-old Bianca Jones died while surrounded by family at a hospital in Thailand.

Her friend Holly Bowles passed away a day later.

The Australian Government has updated its travel advice for Laos following the poisonings.

“Be alert to the potential risks, particularly with spirit-based drinks, including cocktails,” official travel advice website Smartraveller warns.

Contaminated drinks can include local home-brewed spirits and spirit-based drinks, such as cocktails, but even familiar brand name alcohol as labels on bottles aren’t always accurate.

Laos isn’t the only country with this risk. Smartraveller also names nearby countries like Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia, as well as Costa Rica and Türkiye.

“Alcohol production is less regulated in some destinations than in Australia. This can lead to methanol being used in the production process to lower costs,” it states. “Methanol is highly toxic. As little as one shot can be fatal.”

Laos remains a level one travel advice country despite the new warning. Australians are told to reconsider their need to travel to Xaisomboun Province, east of Vang Vieng (orange on the map) due to the high risk of armed attacks. Picture: Smartraveller

Smartraveller urges Australian tourists to know the symptoms of methanol poisoning, which can be similar to drinking too much.

“However, they are usually stronger,” it states.

Symptoms include fatigue, headaches, nausea, and vision problems such as blindness, blurred or snowfield vision, changes in colour perception, difficulty looking at bright lights, dilated pupils, flashes of light and tunnel vision.

“Act quickly if you suspect you or someone you’re travelling with has been poisoned. Urgent medical attention could save your life or save you from permanent disability,” Smartraveller advises, encouraging people to report suspected cases of methanol poisoning to the police.

Dr Blair Aitken from Swinburne’s Centre for Mental Health and Brain Science said methanol was difficult to distinguish from ethanol, the alcohol found in beer, wine, and spirits, because it is colourless, odourless, and tasteless.

He said it was especially difficult to know if in diluted drinks like cocktails.

“Methanol is so dangerous because the body processes it differently than ethanol,” Dr Aitken said.

“While ethanol is broken down into compounds that our body can use for energy, methanol is metabolised into formaldehyde and then formic acid, both of which are extremely toxic.

“These chemicals can cause severe tissue damage, particularly to the retina, leading to blindness, seizures, or even death.”

He explained that in some cases, dangerously high methanol levels were created during illegal alcohol production or home distillation “due to poor control during the distillation process”.

But in other cases, “methanol is intentionally added to counterfeit alcohol because it is easier to produce and a cheap way to increase alcohol content”.

Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles were staying at Nana Backpackers Hostel in Vang Vieng.

Natalie Ball, managing director for travel insurance comparison site comparetravelinsurance.com.au, told news.com.au that methanol poisoning is generally covered.

Unlike when people travel to destinations after a natural disaster has become a known event and find themselves without cover, this suspected mass poisoning should not change things.

“If you were unknowingly poisoned by methanol or another toxic substance, your travel insurance would cover medical expenses, including air ambulance fees and the costs of returning you home safely,” Ms Ball said.

“While the recent methanol poisonings in Laos have garnered significant attention, insurers typically provide coverage for such incidents, regardless of their publicised nature.”

Ms Ball said the tragedy had highlighted some of the risks when travelling through parts of the world that are less regulated when it comes to health and safety.

“We would strongly recommend tourists not to accept free drinks and to only consume spirits from reputable, licensed bars and restaurants,” she said.

“If you’re at all unsure, stick to bottled beer or pre-packaged drinks. If you do experience any strange symptoms, seek medical help as soon as possible.”

Compare the Market’s Chris Ford explained drink spiking was also different from other alcohol-related incidents that might not be covered.

“Insurers always consider claims on a case-by-case basis. Sometimes, when alcohol is the cause of the loss or contributes considerably to the loss, insurers may not meet the claim,” he said.

“However, if the loss is due to poisoning, the claim will be assessed differently, and the outcome could be different.”

‘They wouldn’t have known’

Australian man Colin Ahearn, who runs Facebook advisory page Just Don’t Drink Spirits in Bali, advocates for travellers to only drink single-serve beverages while abroad — such as bottled beer or pre-mixed sealed cans.

Mr Ahearn has been providing travellers who have fallen victim to methanol poisoning advice on treatment and recovery for close to a decade.

Speaking to news.com.au, Mr Ahearn said the teenagers wouldn’t have had any idea what they had consumed until it was too late and the “horrendous” symptoms took hold.

“Ethanol is normal sugar based alcohol, so the body will process ethanol quite easily because it’s just sugar,” he explained.

“Methanol on the other hand, it’s a harder product to be metabolised. So if someone has normal alcohol in their system, that will process that first, then the methanol will be processed.

“Generally speaking, if someone has a big night, there will be maybe a 5-10 hour delay before the booze is out of their system and the methanol takes over, and that’s when it starts to impact their soft tissues.

“So someone consuming it wouldn’t taste it, they wouldn’t have known at all. If there’s no other alcohol in their system, it will hit really quickly. But normally there’s other alcohol in the system to metabolise first, so there is a delay in symptoms.”

Mr Ahearn said once methanol starts to take hold of someone who has consumed the chemical, a relatively small amount can be fatal.

“The initial signs will be blurred vision, and around 99 per cent of victims will have erratic breathing,” he said.

“They will have stomach cramps and diarrhoea … and disorientation will hit. They will also want to sleep, and then what happens … it essentially embalms you.”

Mr Ahearn said a single shot of methanol is enough to cause blindness, and while everyone processes the chemical differently — if someone weighed around 60kg and had a double shot in their drink — “that would be lights out and enough to kill you”.

But what’s perhaps the most scary part of methanol poisoning, he said, is how it can sometimes mimic the common symptoms associated with ‘Bali belly’ — and delay a victim from seeking help at the right time.

“You’re going to have cramps, nausea, headaches … a lot of the things that will mimic [Bali belly or Delhi belly] but it is actually methanol poisoning,” he said.

“It’s horrendous, the gut pain … the fear … the anxiety that comes along with it.”

Mr Ahearn said methanol poisoning can be treated successfully if diagnosed within 10-30 hours of ingestion, with suspected cases advised to go to hospital which has dialysis equipment as soon as possible.

He said to avoid a poisoning while travelling abroad in places like Bali, Laos or Thailand, travellers should only buy alcohol from reputable venues and shops, avoid pre-mixed drinks or cocktails that have not been poured in front of you and not to get swept up in cheap prices or free drinks, because low costs could indicate a homebrew rather than from a reputable distillery.