Dominican Republic - American tourists found dead in resorts, same cause of death, 2018/2019

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here's one, this time it was some sort of poisonous air conditioning unit ...

Brit couple ‘poisoned by air con’ in Dominican Republic 'death' resort
Yes I had seen that one awhile back. But only case I have seen coming out of England anyway. Americans r reporting illnesses what seems likely daily and in large numbers. Just wondering why we are not hearing more reports elsewhere in the same large numbers. Especially if Canadians continue to reserve vacations at 15-20 per day out of a single travel agency.
 
Yes I had seen that one awhile back. But only case I have seen coming out of England anyway. Americans r reporting illnesses what seems likely daily and in large numbers. Just wondering why we are not hearing more reports elsewhere in the same large numbers. Especially if Canadians continue to reserve vacations at 15-20 per day out of a single travel agency.

maybe not related, but another mysterious illness:

Dad thought baby was 'going to die' after she got hand, foot and mouth disease on Thomas Cook trip to Dominican Republic
 
I think MSM need to tone down the hysteria a bit and stop reporting on everyone who got abdominal cramps and diarrhea.

Maybe they should also compare the illnesses reported in other AI’s such as in Jamaica, Cancun, Baja.

bbm -- My thoughts, too.
I and about 60 other people from all over the US were in Scottsdale, AZ, for a big business conference. It was a beautiful place to be, but hot & dry. We were strongly encouraged to keep bottled water with us at all times and to keep hydrated. Daytime temps were around 104 F.
We were all drinking bottled beverages -- beer, water, soft drinks, etc, trying to stay hydrated. About half of us wound up with severe diarrhea, and a few with diarrhea and vomiting -- we were all pretty darn sick, but it passed after a couple of days. Let me stress that our being in Scottsdale had very little to do with it -- we were simply out of our own separate "territories," STS. I drank only bottled water and soft drinks, but I felt terrible.
When folks get out of their areas and drink water or things that have water in them -- that water is still "territorial" to the area. It often has negative effects on people because that's just the way it is with our own individual digestive systems. We were, however, in the US and drinking US beverages. And there certainly were no deaths.

What we're seeing here is probably some of that, but, the water-based beverages are most likely not US water based. What we're seeing here is much, much worse, IMO.

And please note, again, that this post is in no way intended to single-out Arizona -- a beautiful place, great people, wonderful food and accommodations -- we were simply in an area that was remote from where some of us lived.
 
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This is from 2017... I definitely wouldn’t be trying any homebrew anywhere! Homemade liquor kills 12, sickens 21 in Dominican Republic

I hope the message gets out to the resorts that they should immediately replace their mini bar bottles on tap with sealed bottles. And I hope that travelers recognize the risk they take when deciding to partake in these “on tap” mini bars. With that said,

IF this is adulterated alcohol, or tainted bootleg alcohol... why is it happening apparently only from minibars? (If I had time I’d list the deaths with their known last drink)

You would think IF the resort had bottles of tainted alcohol it would also be served from the hotel /resort at some point? That point is concerning to me, concerning but doesn’t mean I think it’s a serial killer. Could easily be a housekeeper or room attendant swapping out alcohol for their own use and topping bottles off with something else?
 
Might be useful for whoever is investigating this from USA to distribute a questionnaire to people landing back at airports in USA after visiting DR. Some of the stomach issues are likely from food - that happens on vacations, but still would be useful to know to what extent and from what source.
And, it would be a way to capture info from people who are more severely ill but who survived DR and seek treatment/recover quietly back at home. Not everyone is going to the press with their health problems, of course - so how to capture that info and weed out the run-of-the-mill traveler's digestive issues? If WSers are finding this thread repetitive and too jumbled, I think it's a reflection on what the situation is actually like. The info as of yet doesn't seem organized.

I'm not a health investigator....I'm sure they know what they are doing without my input, lol.

jmo

This is a great idea.
 
https://nypost.com/2019/06/17/more-...MpBU6MZ2IY9sglOnMugpf2i5bpy3de6IMu74-RZVs7bG4

More information is coming out about tourists who have mysteriously died in the Dominican Republic, including a New Jersey resident who suddenly fell ill last week — and an Arizona man who had “something green” foaming from his mouth following his death, a report says.

“It was something that came way out of left field,” said Mark Hulburt Jr., son of 62-year-old Mark Hulburt Sr., who was found dead at a hotel in Punta Cana last June by his wife.

“She woke up, and he didn’t,” Hulburt Jr. told AZ Family. “She told me that as she found him that he had something green coming from his mouth.”

Hulburt Sr.’s cause of death was listed as a heart attack, but his family now suspects that something else is to blame following the recent reports of other tourists dying under strange circumstances and similar conditions.

ETA: i am in a fb group (crime stuff) and a woman posted a video of herself, in DR, pouring a drink (ciroc) over ice, and when she stirred it up, it turned into a solid, plastic-like substance. pretty bizarre.
 
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Is Tainted Alcohol to Blame for Deaths and Sickness in the Dominican Republic? A Doctor Weighs In

The FBI and CDC have confirmed it is investigating the deaths of at least six of the tourists who have died since the summer of 2018.

“It’s definitely very strange,” Reynold A. Panettieri Jr., a physician at Rutgers who specializes in toxicology, tells PEOPLE. “Healthy people don’t just die. And the couple dying at the same time certainly tips us off that something is very wrong.”

Three of the victims — Robert Wallace, Miranda Schaup-Werner and Monique Sport — had a drink from their hotel minibar before falling ill, leading many people to believe that tainted alcohol could be the culprit. Panettieri says that’s a plausible theory.

A source told the Post the FBI is assisting and will take blood samples from the victims back to its research center in Quantico, Virginia

“This will be a long investigation,” Panettieri tells PEOPLE. “But they’ll figure it out.”

image

Clockwise, from top Left: Nathaniel Holmes, Yvette Sport, Bob Wallace, Cynthia Day, David Harrison, Miranda Schaup-Werner

 
I agree with many of you that say this "epidemic" so to speak is not all due to one factor or a serial killer. There is enough variety in experiences, symptoms, and outcomes that are likely attributable to various causes. Based on the reports, it seems there are 3 major groups of illnesses/causes:

1. Somewhat ordinary if perhaps more severe version of food/water contamination type bugs that result in diarrhea, vomiting, etc. - mainly from less than sanitary conditions and/or unfamiliar bacteria/contaminants
2. Tainted alcohol incidents - from bars, minibars, etc. - symptoms ranging from severe to mild
3. Unknown environmental/pesticide potentially poisoning - this being the most serious that resulted in most of the deaths, the heart attacks, pulmonary edema, as others have said could be from organophosphates affecting some with underlying conditions

The variety here is going to make coming to conclusions somewhat difficult, and reporting every incident of a stomach bug is probably only muddying the waters. I've gotten sick in tropical countries a few times, that's just par for the course when you're in a new environment.

The other stuff is very concerning though and I hope the FBI can get to the bottom of it and address root causes.
 
Agree I stopped following for a bit this week because people keep reposting, discussing and asking questions of what has already been discussed and posted.

(I apologize as I may have been guilty of that. I usually take the time to read every post. I have been very short on time as of late so please accept my apology. I get frustrated when others do the same thing lol. I hate to be “that” person! My bad!)
 
I appreciate that the Hard Rock is acknowledging everyone’s concerns and addressing what they are trying to do to prevent further cases. I respect the fact they aren’t not victim blaming and have taken some responsibility at least with the illnesses that have been reported.

No, the Dominican Republic hasn't suddenly become more dangerous, statistics show

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ca...ss-at-hard-rock-casino-punta-cana-in-june/amp

From the above link:

“"I had a fever," Martin told NBC affiliate WWBT of Richmond, Virginia. "I was in and out of consciousness for a while. I would wake up to vomit. My body would wake itself up to get more out."

She said doctors in the Dominican Republic speculated that it might have been a (BBM) blood infection, but the exact cause of her illness is still unknown.“

See this is exactly why I mentioned earlier I’d like to see an Infectious Disease Specialist weigh in. We’ve obviously got the alcohol issue and source potential, but we are also seeing references to “salmonella”, and “E-Coli”, now “blood infection”...

Again aside from the potential of the contaminated liquor, I do wonder about the Noro Type viruses, surface contamination (and of course food ice and water), other specific bacterial and viral types of contaminations.

But, as mentioned above, the fact that kids haven’t gotten ill (knock on wood)...

—-

ETA: FTR I texted one of my physician friends with a couple links and asked what his thoughts were. His response was “I don’t know”.
 
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Are there a large number of kids going to DR? I'm curious the percentage of kids that are actually going to the AI resorts.

At quick glance, there are adult only resorts and some say family friendly but don't provide activities or support that.

I also saw family friendly packages with specific simple kids meals, built in daycare, trampoline etc.

MOO
 
Not that this is a likely scenario, but..
if i was to don a tinfoil hat, the possibility of someone connected to the medical/science field, might be conducting a few "experiments" with human guinea pigs, or providing extra funds for medical personnel would come to mind.
Experiment results might be more accurate if applied to both males and females and sudden heart/health, would be less suspect if the people affected are in their 50's.
Speculation, imo.
 
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My friend goes every year. The last time was Feb for two weeks.

His grandchildren have come every year since they were toddlers and now one is going to go to college.

He spends a lot of money. They are picked up by a taxi and presented with several of their own bottles of liquor.

He said the woman who was beaten stayed in a resort that is not in a good area.

Since more of this has come out, I want to ask more but I feel he may not like questions about his dream vacation.

The resort he stays at has multiple restaurants and little places to get a snack or refreshing drink.

Europeans stay there.
 
Are there a large number of kids going to DR? I'm curious the percentage of kids that are actually going to the AI resorts.

At quick glance, there are adult only resorts and some say family friendly but don't provide activities or support that.

I also saw family friendly packages with specific simple kids meals, built in daycare, trampoline etc.

MOO

How many of the affected persons had children along with them on their trip?
 
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