6 dead from tainted alcohol in Laos

Six tourists, including an American, are dead after consuming tainted alcohol in Laos.

So far a British woman, two Australian teens, an American man and two Danes have died after drinking alcohol that contained methanol, CNN reported.

Holly Bowles, 19, was the latest to die. He had been on life support in Thailand after being medically evacuated from Laos. Her friend, Bianca Jones, died Thursday.

The U.S. State Department said an American died in Vang Vieng but did not give a cause of death, other than to say it was “closely monitoring the situation and providing consular assistance,” CNN reported.

The agency also warned travelers to be “alert to the potential risk of methanol poisoning,” The Associated Press reported.

Lao News Agency (KPL), however, said that the American, along with the two Danes, died on Nov. 13 in Vang Vieng.

“The suspected cause of death is believed to be the consumption of tainted alcoholic beverages,” KPL reported.

Methanol is a type of alcohol. Ethanol is the type that is in drinks and is the only type that is safe to consume. Isopropanol is in rubbing alcohol and hand sanitizers while methanol, the type suspected in the Laos cases, is used in antifreeze and solvents, the AP reported.

Some bars may add methanol to mixed drinks to make them more potent and to save money on regular alcohol like vodka or rum in areas where taxes or the cost of alcohol is too high, the Methanol Institute said. It is also part of the distillation process to make grain alcohol and can end up in what is distilled in home-brews or where there are not strict rules about alcohol fermentation processes, the AP reported.

Drinking .7 to 3 ounces of methanol can be deadly without medical treatment, but you can survive if you are treated early enough and depending on how your body processes it.

“Individuals vary in their response to methanol,” toxicologist Alastair Hay told the AP. “Some will be able to tolerate more than others because we all have variability in the capacity of our enzymes to detox. But small quantities ... might be fatal for individuals; others may survive slightly more.”

Symptoms of methanol poisoning are headaches, dizziness, coma, seizures, nausea, vomiting and blurred vision among other symptoms.

Methanol is colorless, odorless and tasteless so Britain’s Foreign Office said to drink alcoholic beverages from licensed liquor stores, bars and hotels. Also look at the packaging, making sure seals are intact and labels don’t have poor print quality or spelling mistakes. Drink canned alcoholic beverages or duty-free ones, the Methanol Institute suggested. Don’t drink homemade concoctions, free drinks or ones that are priced way below normal.