Australian officials have issued warnings for travelers to be alert for potential methanol poisoning after seven tourists were hospitalized in Fiji last week after drinking alcohol-based cocktails at a luxury resort bar. The alert comes less than a month after six backpackers in Laos died, and others were hospitalized, from what some officials worldwide suspect was methanol poisoning. An investigation into causes behind the hospitalizations in Fiji is ongoing, according to the country’s Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, which said the cases are an isolated event.
Methanol is colorless, and consuming the substance in amounts as small as two to eight ounces can be fatal, according to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. In the last 15 years, there have been reported cases of tainted alcohol in Laos, Fiji, Cambodia, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Libya, Nicaragua, Norway, Pakistan, Turkey, and Uganda, killing and hospitalizing hundreds of local residents and tourists.
Here is some advice for how to protect yourself, when possible, from tainted drinks while traveling.
What is methanol?
Methanol, a form of alcohol, can appear in illegal (bootleg) spirits or home-brew liquor as an accidental byproduct from distillation. Commercial manufacturers remove methanol before bottling, but purveyors of black market and homemade alcohols often lack a system to get rid of the harmful alcohol. Sometimes methanol is also put in cheap drinks because it costs less than the alcohol in beer, wine and spirits.
Can you spot contaminated alcohol?
Usually, you cannot smell or taste methanol in drinks, especially since it is typically mixed with other alcohol. Properly branded bottles of hard alcohol can be refilled and resold with cheap, bootleg liquor.
When possible, inspect liquor bottles for signs of tampering or counterfeiting. Labels with poor print quality or incorrect spelling are red flags.
How can you tell if you have methanol poisoning?
Detecting methanol poisoning is difficult because the symptoms often initially mimic intoxication and do not appear until the methanol is metabolized — usually it takes 12 to 24 hours, but sometimes up to 72 hours after consumption, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Common symptoms include drowsiness, lack of inhibition, vomiting, vertigo, a severe headache and abdominal pain, then sometimes followed by hyperventilation, breathlessness, vision impairments and convulsions, according to the C.D.C. In serious cases, people can go into a coma or go blind or die. Methanol poisoning can usually be treated successfully if people are diagnosed within 10 to 30 hours after ingestion and taken to the hospital.
If you suspect something is wrong or you are suffering from more than a typical hangover, seek medical attention immediately, as treatment requires emergency services.
What can you do to protect yourself from contaminated drinks?
Be sure to choose reputable bars and other venues, even if it means paying a little more. Watch your drinks being mixed at the bar. If drinks or liquor are free or unreasonably cheap, then it is probably too good to be true: Counterfeit products are often sold at exceptionally low prices.
Consuming alcohol in moderation will also help you realize more quickly if something is wrong. When possible, go out with other people so you can take care of each other. Decline any drinks offered by strangers.
Avoiding free or unidentifiable alcohol, particularly hard liquor, is another good precaution. In Laos, the U.S. Embassy confirmed that it knew of “a number of cases of suspected methanol poisoning in Vang Vieng, possibly through the consumption of methanol-laced alcoholic drinks.” The Associated Press, citing a manager at the Nana Backpacker Hostel in Vang Vieng, wrote that two women who sickened had stayed at the hostel and consumed free shots of vodka. The women later died, according to Australia’s foreign minister, Penny Wong.
In a warning dated Nov. 22, the U.S. Embassy recommended Americans to only “purchase alcoholic beverages and drinks from licensed liquor stores, bars, and hotels” and “avoid homemade alcoholic drinks.”
In an alert from the Australian government updated Nov. 29, travelers in Laos were advised that “Lao authorities have issued an order prohibiting the sale and consumption of Tiger Vodka and Tiger Whisky due to their concerns about these products being a health risk.”
When unsure, especially in an unfamiliar destination, stay away from hard liquor. Even homemade beer, for example, is unlikely to have enough methanol to be dangerous, but liquor can contain elevated levels. Bottled or canned beer, which you can open yourself or watch being opened, is a better option.
When traveling abroad, sign up for email alerts from your country’s foreign-affairs department or embassy in the country you’re visiting to be notified of any alerts or concerns. Have a plan for how to get back to where you’re staying and also know how to access local emergency services.
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