Westerner found dead in Udon Hotel

[wazza]

Here is a good basic explanation of the disease witn a Food Safety aspect.

"Plesiomonas shigelloides
General characteristics

This is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium, which has been isolated from freshwater, freshwater fish, and shellfish and from many types of animals including cattle, goats, swine, cats, dogs, monkeys, vultures, snakes, and toads.

Most human P. shigelloides infections are suspected to be waterborne. The organism is mainly of tropical and sub-tropical origin. The organism may be present in unsanitary water, which has been used as drinking water, recreational water, or water used to rinse foods that are consumed without cooking or heating. The ingested P. shigelloides organism does not always cause illness in the host animal but may reside temporarily as a transient, non-infectious member of the intestinal flora. It has been isolated from the stools of patients with diarrhoea, but is also sometimes isolated from healthy individuals (0.2-3.2% of population).

It cannot yet be considered a definite cause of human disease, although its association with human diarrhoea and the virulence factors it demonstrates make it a prime candidate.

Disease symptoms
Gastroenteritis is the disease with which P. shigelloides has been implicated.
Most P. shigelloides strains associated with human gastrointestinal disease have been from stools of diarrheic patients living in tropical and subtropical areas. Infections are rarely reported in the U.S. or Europe, partly because of the self-limiting nature of the disease.

P. shigelloides gastroenteritis is usually a mild self-limiting disease with fever, chills, abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhoea, or vomiting; symptoms may begin 20-24 hours after consumption of contaminated food or water; diarrhoea is watery, non-mucoid, and non-bloody; in severe cases, diarrhoea may be greenish-yellow, foamy, and blood tinged; duration of illness in healthy people may be 1-7 days.

The infectious dose is presumed to be quite high, at least greater than one million organisms.

Diagnosis
The pathogenesis of P. shigelloides infection is not known. The organism is suspected of being toxigenic and invasive. Its significance as an enteric (intestinal) pathogen is presumed because of its predominant isolation from stools of patients with diarrhoea. It is identified by common bacteriological analysis, serotyping, and antibiotic sensitivity testing.

Associated foods
Most P. shigelloides infections occur in the summer months and correlate with environmental contamination of freshwater (rivers, streams, ponds, etc.). The usual route of transmission of the organism in sporadic or epidemic cases is by ingestion of contaminated water or raw shellfish.

Prevention
Total prevention is probably not possible, however avoiding raw shellfish and ingestion of surface water may reduce the risk.

Risk populations
All people may be susceptible to infection. Infants, children and chronically ill people are more likely to experience protracted illness and complications.

Sources:

The bad bug book : http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/intro.htm
European Masters Degree in Food Studies - an Educational Journey
Giant Microbes : The largest and funniest micro-organisms in the world !

Last Update: Sunday 6 March, 2011 Food-Info.net is an initiative of Wageningen University, The Netherlands

[maaka]

After being involved with the Chiangmai case for some five months now, its good to see that when a similar situation happens in Udon, that Udon authorities stepped up to the plate, and got the cause identified, and made known to the public in very fast time..Well done Udonthani Health Authorities and the Dept of Disease Control.

[Aardvark]

Thanks Wazza, we can always count on you =D>

[JimboPSM]

Update from "The Nation".

Dead tourist had E. coli strain, tests show
By The Nation
Published on June 24, 2011

Lab tests on samples from a foreigner found dead at an Udon Thani hotel have detected an E. coli strain, but confirmation is pending on whether it was a communicable type, Public Health Ministry permanent secretary Dr Phaijit Warachit said yesterday.

Tests of the unnamed tourist's blood and urine detected a bacteria called Plesiomonas shigelloides, which is capable of causing diarrhoea. It is a type rarely found in humans, but more often in freshwater fish and clams. The cause of death will also be investigated through police forensic work, Phaijit said.

E. coli is a bacteria common in the intestinal ducts of human and cattle. It is helpful in digestion, but a strain spreading in Europe now is communicable and has caused deaths and sickness in many countries.

A policeman who inspected the tourist's room had diarrhoea and is now recovering.

His symptoms initially sparked fears of an outbreak since he had searched the tourist's body and touched his passport.

Phaijit said the unnamed officer was fine now and merely suffering from normal diarrhoea.

A total of 25 people, including hotel maids and staff and waiting staff at a restaurant where the tourist had a meal, have been put under surveillance after physical examination.

So far, none have shown symptoms of disease. Public health officials will monitor them until June 30.

The tourist, reportedly an elderly Western man, checked in at the unspecified hotel in Udon Thani some time before June 20, when he was found dead.

Original article: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/06 ... 58570.html

Not sure why the tourist and the police officer have now become "unnamed" in "The Nation" when they (assuming they are the same people) were named in the previous articles

See post by "Wazza" above for a more detailed explanation about "Plesiomonas shigelloides”.

[Khun Paul]

Interesting to note that they seem to be pointing to the ingestion of sea-food ( freshwater) which was the subject of a earlier unrelated report about the high incidence of Liver Fluke illness ( cancer I believe ) .
Where it was said that the ingestion of this food unless properly cooked and prepared caused widespread illnesses.

lesson to us all i think.....................

[tonytuy2005]

Wow, another good news after not the best situation for Udon Thani tourist destination ,but somebody know the place in question ?? which hotel ???

[Aardvark]

For some reason TB's link only shows a story about the German E-Coli and not the Udon one ?? The name of the Hotel was in that Original link !

[maaka]

yes it seems the name of the hotel, which began with an S, its address, in a road beginning with an S, and the room number (202) that was displayed here before, without even having to go to a link, has now disappeared...

[wazza]

Mods ? Any idea

[wazza]

Mods ? Any idea

[Saboo]

Did someone not say the hotel was the one opposite the 7/11 next to the main bus station... ??


Mr. Saboo

[Aardvark]

Opposite the Bus Station from memory ??

[maaka]

yes i agree Aardvark..it begins with an S, and is in a road that starts with an S...

I dare say after the Chiangmai fiasco, and what has happened to the hotel in that case, after its name got out, perhaps the Udon owners / authorities /mods, dont want to unfairly splash the name of the Udon hotel around, and see it loose trade, when the illness and subsequent death of the victim, has not been linked to him dying as a consequence of him eating at that establishment...yet.

[lee]

yes it seems the name of the hotel, which began with an S, its address, in a road beginning with an S, and the room number (202) that was displayed here before, without even having to go to a link, has now disappeared...

Mods ? Any idea

It's still there post #3 by Parrot.

[stargate]

how do i get back to post # 3 please?

[old-timer]

how do i get back to post # 3 please?

Here's a quick gist of the article at
http://breakingnews.nationchannel.com/r ... sid=515970

On 20 June at 12:30AM a 66 year old from London, England, Daniel Fargus (not sure of spelling), was found dead in Room 202 at the Sritrakarn Hotel.( โรงแรมศรีตระการ) on Saiuthit Road in Udon. He was found naked in his room, with feces all over, no signs of physical assault. He had been dead about 4 hours.
Five days before his death, he rented a room at the hotel, alone. He drank frequently and a lot, according to the hotel manager. When the staff cleaned his room each day, there was vomit and feces in the room. The staff told him to go to a doctor, but he refused. He went out drinking at a nearby bar.
According to the investigation, a possible cause of death is from E. coli. The investigation continues.

From what I can see on my map at home, the hotel is probably one of those directly across from the bus station, near the complex http://maps.google.co.th/maps?hl=en&cli ... d=0CAQQtgM

OT...........

[JimboPSM]

how do i get back to post # 3 please?

This link will take you straight to posts starting at number 3 on this topic:

http://www.udonmap.com/udonthaniforum/w ... ml?start=2

[lee]

If you wish to go back a few pages click the page number link at the bottom of the page.

[maaka]

so much for my eyesight...hahaha

[Khun Paul]

The hotel was not the problem it was what the man ate, which as far as I can ascertain DID NOT come from the hotel, so hotel name is meaningless.