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

[Noharg]

Apologies if already posted

California Man Reveals He Felt 'Sick Enough to Die' While on Dominican Republic Vacation

 

[borndem]

Yes, at the all-inclusive resorts. They could clearly refill those bottles with bootleg liquor.

Just a personal note -- I don't drink alcohol (bad genes) so I've never used a minibar, but I surely wouldn't take anything from any minibar that appeared to have refillable bottles. Anywhere. Ick.
Right now, along with others here, I'm blaming the mini bars and the alcoholic beverages (d'oh)... And it may not be the hotels, but the supplier of the minibar items and the other alcoholic beverages in the hotels. It could be that one supplier serves the whole resort hotel area.
This thing is just getting bigger and bigger, isn't it?

 

[borndem]

You're right, though I also wish Americans realized what was happening when they go on "cheap" vacations. There are reasons the prices are cheap. Regulations, good wages, quality service, reliable LE and health care all cost money. If you don't want to pay for those things, you're not going to get them.

I hope DR turns this around. It's possible they could make this better and come out ahead, but so far, I'm not impressed with the response.

jmo

Same here -- Seems like all we've heard so far is two words -- "Heart attack."
Grrrrr
IMO, this mess, could really, really hurt the DR if they don't dig a little deeper and welcome other investigators. And if it is something that is beyond the control of the hotels, then the investigation should keep digging. JMHO.

 

[Herat]

Just a personal note -- I don't drink alcohol (bad genes) so I've never used a minibar, but I surely wouldn't take anything from any minibar that appeared to have refillable bottles. Anywhere. Ick.
Right now, along with others here, I'm blaming the mini bars and the alcoholic beverages (d'oh)... And it may not be the hotels, but the supplier of the minibar items and the other alcoholic beverages in the hotels. It could be that one supplier serves the whole resort hotel area.
This thing is just getting bigger and bigger, isn't it?

I think that's a VERY reasonable conclusion. Alcohol sales = big money, anywhere. And anywhere there's big money, there are very few, very ruthless kingpins and cartels who control all such action.

So my guess is that there is a boss type who runs all the "imported" resort alcohol sales and he has some very good contacts in the DR government.

And lets not ignore that Mama Juana local hootch / aphrodisiac stuff (red wine + honey + wood herbs. left brewing in tree trunks or some other silliness). That sound like it could peel paint and dissolve lead radiators.

 

[borndem]

This one seems like a different case - a death from violence or accident, not a food/beverage issue, but falls under the category of tourist death = heart attack. As we've seen from the stats on the thread previously, "natural causes" are not counted but accidents, suicides, etc are. So, it benefits the tourism industry to label just about any tourist death "heart attack."

I really want to see the stat of heart attacks.

https://nypost.com/2019/06/18/mom-accuses-dominican-authorities-of-lying-about-sons-hiking-death/

"The 56-year-old history teacher collapsed and fell on Aug. 29, 2018, during a mountain excursion near Jarabacoa, where he was on vacation, according to the news station.

His mother said officials ruled his death as a heart attack but she believes there was a struggle.

'He was beaten because his knuckles were bruised all up,' Wedington said. 'He had a fractured skull and he had a bruise on his back like he had been kicked.'”

WTH is all this? One dead and one nearly so from physical brutality. Yes, it can happen anywhere, and surely does here in the US, but it's still very disturbing.

 

[diggndeeperstill]

This thread is a pain to follow. The same things keep getting posted and re-discussed.

As far as tainted or bootleg alcohol. I remember when following the problems in mexico a couple years back that there was a huge push for resorts/bars to destroy their empty bottles so they wouldn’t get re-used for bootleg alcohol. The amount of tainted alcohol in Mexico is astounding. I would imagine the same holds true in the DR. 10,000 gallons of illicit alcohol seized in Mexico | Daily Mail Online

An interesting article on the amount, ramifications of, and solutions for illicit alcohol sales worldwide. http://www.iard.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Alcohol-in-the-Shadow-Economy.pdf

 

[MsFacetious]

One factor that makes me lean toward tainted alcohol is the lack of report of children becoming ill...

Yes, this is exactly what I was going to say. The high school kids don't count. But younger kids? You'd think they'd get even sicker! Why aren't they?

In your opinions folks, is there a SK operating?

I think it's unlikely but anything is possible.

This could be like the Tylenol murders. Where someone is randomly poisoning bottles of alcohol and maybe occasionally soda.

It's probably far more likely it's alcohol tampering for financial reasons however.

Snipped and bbm.

Since tourism is a main industry there and brings in much-needed money, I think there is incentive by many to keep the toxicology machines "broken." It's not good PR to let it be known that tourists are poisoned on their vacations.

jmopinion

It also is a good point that in such an area, they may not have the money to keep a place staffed for this. However, they shouldn't prevent families from getting it done elsewhere.

I am curious about this particular case because the woman just turned 53. Women of that age are not especially at risk for heart attacks (yes, I know they can happen) and the family doesn't think a heart attack seems likely. (I would want to check and double check that the blood that is sent to USA for testing is actually her blood too.)

I'd like to see the number of tourists who have died in DR due to "natural causes."

jmo

I agree they should make very sure who's blood they receive.

This is a very important question, imo. If they were drinking or not.

I agree. So far most of the deceased we know were drinking. However, there are a couple of them that we are not sure about.

 

[Momof4RN]

This is a very important question, imo. If they were drinking or not.

It was posted up thread by someone who’s daughter knows the grads that they were drinking. It’s why they plan a senior trip to DR because drinking age is 18.

 

[Momof4RN]

This thread is a pain to follow. The same things keep getting posted and re-discussed.

As far as tainted or bootleg alcohol. I remember when following the problems in mexico a couple years back that there was a huge push for resorts/bars to destroy their empty bottles so they wouldn’t get re-used for bootleg alcohol. The amount of tainted alcohol in Mexico is astounding. I would imagine the same holds true in the DR. 10,000 gallons of illicit alcohol seized in Mexico | Daily Mail Online

An interesting article on the amount, ramifications of, and solutions for illicit alcohol sales worldwide. http://www.iard.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Alcohol-in-the-Shadow-Economy.pdf

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.

 

[Momof4RN]

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

 

[JerseyGirl]

and another sickness...

Reality TV star Melissa Rycroft latest to fall ill in Dominican Republic

Days after posting an Instagram featuring her husband and three children that was tagged with the Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts in Punta Cana, Rycroft posted a photo of herself in a doctor’s exam room, looking considerably under the weather.

'The Bachelor' star Melissa Rycroft falls sick during vacation in Dominican Republic

“She got an upset stomach on the second day of vacation, but it passed. Once they came home, she got severe cramping,” the rep said. “It has lasted for over a week, and she’s currently getting tested for possible parasites and any other infections. She’s assuming it’s something foodborne, but no one else in her family is ill.”

 

[JerseyGirl]

and another...

A few days after returning to Rochester Hills from Punta Cana, Scott became seriously ill. "I’m just losing all my fluids, I can’t keep anything down." He traveled there at the beginning of [April] with his wife and 17-year-old son, who was going on a senior class trip for Spring Break.

His son, Evan, also got sick.

The U.S. Department of State does indicate that tourists shouldn't drink tap water in the Dominican Republic. Both Scott and Evan assumed their all-inclusive resort, The Royalton, had a water filtration system.

Evan, who said dozen of his friends got sick too, heard about the tourist deaths prior to his trip, but didn’t think much of it.

Scott’s doctor told him he contracted E-Coli; Evan never got an official diagnosis.

Father, son from Rochester Hills violently ill after trip to Dominican Republic

 

[Inthedetails]

and another sickness...

Reality TV star Melissa Rycroft latest to fall ill in Dominican Republic

Days after posting an Instagram featuring her husband and three children that was tagged with the Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts in Punta Cana, Rycroft posted a photo of herself in a doctor’s exam room, looking considerably under the weather.

'The Bachelor' star Melissa Rycroft falls sick during vacation in Dominican Republic

“She got an upset stomach on the second day of vacation, but it passed. Once they came home, she got severe cramping,” the rep said. “It has lasted for over a week, and she’s currently getting tested for possible parasites and any other infections. She’s assuming it’s something foodborne, but no one else in her family is ill.”

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

 

[JerseyGirl]

Health experts are reminding travelers who are going to the Dominican Republic to get vaccinated accordingly, including for Hepatitis A and Typhoid.

Atlanta area residents concerned over deaths in Dominican Republic

 

[JerseyGirl]

another story...

Rena and Mark stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana. However, the last two days of their trip. "I had diarrhea, vomiting, a headache I can't even really describe, and then I was having back muscle spasms, body aches," said Rena. The day before, Mark's 13-year-old daughter had been treated for a very bad case of bug bites. "She was covered. She was itchy. It was miserable," said Rena.

Rena says the hotel's doctor told them Paige had chicken pox and ordered the family to take her to a hospital emergency room, saying they wouldn't be cleared to fly home until she was diagnosed. Rena says Paige had been vaccinated and they didn't believe it was chicken pox.

Five hours later and after a $500 bill Rena says an ER doctor confirmed it was bug bites. After learning of numerous deaths at this and other area resorts, as well as hundreds of people reportedly falling ill, Rena is now questioning the medical staff's judgement.

Latham woman gets sick at Dominican Republic resort

and another....

'It’s a Dangerous Place to Go': Florida Couple Recounts Getting Sick in Dominican Republic

 

[Inthedetails]

another story...

Rena and Mark had been planning a dream vacation to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana for over a year. However, the last two days of their trip. "I had diarrhea, vomiting, a headache I can't even really describe, and then I was having back muscle spasms, body aches," said Rena. The day before, Mark's 13-year-old daughter had been treated for a very bad case of bug bites. "She was covered. She was itchy. It was miserable," said Rena.

Rena says the hotel's doctor told them Paige had chicken pox and ordered the family to take her to a hospital emergency room, saying they wouldn't be cleared to fly home until she was diagnosed. Rena says Paige had been vaccinated and they didn't believe it was chicken pox.

Five hours later and after a $500 bill Rena says an ER doctor confirmed it was bug bites. After learning of numerous deaths at this and other area resorts, as well as hundreds of people reportedly falling ill, Rena is now questioning the medical staff's judgement.

Latham woman gets sick at Dominican Republic resort

Sounds like bed bugs. They aren't saying that, imo, because that will really keep tourists away (and they can bring the bugs home with them). Though, you'd think the others in the family would get bites too. Weird.



jmo

 

[NervousNellie]

Sounds like bed bugs. They aren't saying that, imo, because that will really keep tourists away (and they can bring the bugs home with them). Though, you'd think the others in the family would get bites too. Weird.



jmo

If it is bedbugs, it doesn't mean the parents weren't also bitten; not everyone reacts to the bedbug bites.

 

[Momof4RN]

I would like to know where in the DR Canadians and British vacation? I’m still at loss why we are not seeing the numbers of illnesses and deaths reported from them as we have Americans. Do they tend to vacation more at non all inclusives or just different resorts not impacted? If I was planning a trip to DR I would be looking into staying where they stay.

Ottawa residents worry about travel to the Dominican Republic as 9th American dies

 

[JerseyGirl]

I would like to know where in the DR Canadians and British vacation? I’m still at loss why we are not seeing the numbers of illnesses and deaths reported from them as we have Americans. Do they tend to vacation more at non all inclusives or just different resorts not impacted? If I was planning a trip to DR I would be looking into staying where they stay.

Ottawa residents worry about travel to the Dominican Republic as 9th American dies

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

 

[Inthedetails]

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

I wonder if the a/c "poisoning" is masking alcohol poisoning. Perhaps the a/c unit did smell weird (I've been in hotel rooms with weird-smelling air too)....but they also were drinking from the bars in each of their rooms so they are thinking it was the a/c because they noticed the smell.

You'd think with bad air from an a/c, that workers and other guests would also be sick from that.

jmo