Sickness at BP San Juan

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KeithF

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Great, just what the country needed. Headline news on the main 6 o'clock bulletin this evening on the BBC. Expect "Septic Isle" headline to be rolled out again in the Daily Mail once more within the next 10 days...

BBC NEWS | UK | Probe into holiday hotel sickness

This will lead to a run [if you'll pardon the awful pun] of negative stories regarding the Dom Rep in the British press. Numbers of Brits heading to the Dom Rep will go down next year.
 

Lambada

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Expect "Septic Isle" headline to be rolled out again in the Daily Mail once more within the next 10 days...

No, they went with the very original 'holiday from hell' headline:
Holiday from hell after stomach bug hospitalises British tourists in Caribbean | the Daily Mail

The Scotsman is going with 'killer bug' albeit not as a headline:
Scotsman.com News - International - UK tourists hit by dysentery outbreak on holiday

and The Times has
Analysis: why the Dominican Republic gets a bad rap - Times Online
 

DOMINCAN BOY

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comment from daily mail

Food Poisoning, or often times water-poisoning can be deadly but much of the reporting can also be unfair. I contracted water-poisoning on a BA flight from Milan to London in the seventies. I could have blamed the hotel where I was staying on a business trip but fortunately my colleague stayed in another hotel as it was a busy time of the year. So the health authorities in the UK traced it back to the water container on board the airliner! A famous local hotel was blamed recently in the press for food-poisoning. After further investigation it proved to have been introduced by a guest. My point is that whilst it is highly likely the hotel it could have been introduced from anywhere, but when a large number of people gather the outbreak will not be confined to the one family as highly infectious bacteria can easily be transmitted.

- Andrew Charnley, Tobago, WI Holiday from hell after stomach bug hospitalises British tourists in Caribbean | the Daily Mail
 

KeithF

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The Daily Mail, for those from outside of the UK, is a right wing comic that loves a scare story. They have been vociferous in their attacks on Dom Rep in the past and have a staple news content of 'house price fears', 'interest rate fears', 'illegal immigrants fears'. If they can lead with a story about fear/hell/nightmare etc, they will. They will have a follow up story some time soon (I'm still confident that Septic Isle will make an appearance).

The problem is, it's a wide spread newspaper that pretends to be a serious one and is read by people like Lorraine Davidson, who has already posted...

My heart goes out to all the holiday makers who have had such a horrendous experience.

On a personal note, I am also extremely concerned that I am planning to fly out to Puerta Plata, which I believe is the same resort (but a different hotel) next Friday for 2 weeks, with children. My fear is it may be a resort problem and other cases may exist at different hotels?


Obviously, researching and checking is far less interesting and informative than simply quaking in fear. The entire country will be tarred with the same brush. But hey, we've got foot & mouth so ner-ner
 
Feb 7, 2007
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Things happen... the problem can be anywhere in the supply chain.

Yesterday I saw on a local channel here in Higuey that there is a quasi-lake with lots of trouts. The problem is the area is infected with chemicals, excrements, and lots of dirty stuff. Lots of trouts though. So some enterprising people come there every day and fish with nets and take huge amounts of the fish away. The investigator for the channel followed the case and found out these people selling the fish as "originating from sea in Miches" to supermarkets and other places.

Sometimes, you just wonder what you eat. So the culprit can be anywhere in the supply chain.

:bunny:!!!My 500th post!!!:bunny:
 
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susie787

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not worried

me and my family will still be going to puerto plata in a months time.the news here has it as its headline and interviewing the tourists also hygeine specialists are on there way to test food and water,and they are saying its food being left in the heat. personally i feel hygeine is better there than most places and wont hesitate to return. i hope it doesnt affect tourism,its such a amazing country and you have so much to show us. my kids wont go anywhere else.
 

Hillbilly

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The issue was harshly attacked today on Diario Libre A.M. Neither Tourism nor Public Health said anything.
The biggest b!tch, and with great reason, is the fact that the f*cking hotel (Bah?a Principe-R?o San Juan) tried to make money off of the discomfort caused by their carelessness in food preparation. the TIMES talks about golden staph as the cause of the problem--But the hotel tried to charge $600 per patient to get doctor's care....

THAT is what p!ssed off the local commentators, and with almighty good reason, don't you think?

This is a shameless example of selfserving at any cost to the tourist. Unfortunately, it will come back to roost, to the great detriment of the Bah?a Principe-R?o San Juan.

I would hope that KeithF would contact Lorraine and tell her that Puerto Plata is far away from Rio San Juan and that she should have a good time..

HB
 

KeithF

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The issue was harshly attacked today on Diario Libre A.M. Neither Tourism nor Public Health said anything.
The biggest b!tch, and with great reason, is the fact that the f*cking hotel (Bah?a Principe-R?o San Juan) tried to make money off of the discomfort caused by their carelessness in food preparation. the TIMES talks about golden staph as the cause of the problem--But the hotel tried to charge $600 per patient to get doctor's care....

THAT is what p!ssed off the local commentators, and with almighty good reason, don't you think?

This is a shameless example of selfserving at any cost to the tourist. Unfortunately, it will come back to roost, to the great detriment of the Bah?a Principe-R?o San Juan.

I would hope that KeithF would contact Lorraine and tell her that Puerto Plata is far away from Rio San Juan and that she should have a good time..

HB

Indeed, the hotel have turned a screw-up into a major PR disaster by the way they mismanaged the situation. I actually had someone say to me at work today "so you'll be leaving it a while before you go back to your place in the Dominican Republic?"

Lorraine had posted on the Daily Mail site. I think you have to register to post on there which I'm not prepared to do as my left wing credentials would be blown out of the water if it ever got out! ;)
 

Lambada

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Lorraine had posted on the Daily Mail site. I think you have to register to post on there which I'm not prepared to do as my left wing credentials would be blown out of the water if it ever got out! ;)

I did post on there yesterday but for some inexplicable reason they have chosen not to publish my comment ..........:) I share your views about this being a right wing rag but decided that my own political persuasions took second place to trying to get the message out that the whole of the DR was NOT a health Armageddon. I explained my experience of 15 years fulltime living in the DR & my British origins. I also pointed out to 'Jessica from Aberdeen' that Dominica was a different country..............

Perhaps I should try again, this time dumbing it down? ;)

The mails from UK started coming in to my inbox from early yesterday morning so obviously this is quite an issue over there?
 

whirleybird

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Feb 27, 2006
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I did post on there yesterday but for some inexplicable reason they have chosen not to publish my comment ..........:) I share your views about this being a right wing rag but decided that my own political persuasions took second place to trying to get the message out that the whole of the DR was NOT a health Armageddon. I explained my experience of 15 years fulltime living in the DR & my British origins. I also pointed out to 'Jessica from Aberdeen' that Dominica was a different country..............

Perhaps I should try again, this time dumbing it down? ;)

The mails from UK started coming in to my inbox from early yesterday morning so obviously this is quite an issue over there?

I hate these "scares" which occur because of one isolated incident sounding as if the whole country is infected / affected in some way. We had reason to telephone an old neighbour in the UK about an hour ago and he was concerned for us because of what he had heard on the news about sickness in DR. I suppose I should not tempt providence but, after 14 months living here, neither of us has had any problem healthwise and I doubt we would be able to say that if we still resided in the UK. In fact, my close friend was hospitalised with food poisoning just hours after eating a meal at Ladies Day at Ascot and the UK authorities are investigating......
 

Linda Stapleton

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Jun 3, 2003
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Yes, I decided to put my political persuasions aside momentarily for the good of the country and posted in this rag. It will be interesting to see if my views are published. Like you, Ginnie, I tried to reset the balance a little.

I had relatives staying at this hotel earlier in the year and they had a ball, the best holiday they had ever had and as far as I am aware suffered no health problems. As I perhaps unpopularly mentioned in the Daily Mail (for those who may not otherwise have read it) I do believe that some, although of course not all, health problems experienced are due to holiday-makers trying to get every last penny's worth from their all inclusive and over-indulging in food, booze and sun. There's a very reactionary view from a lefty, but we can all be guilty of wanting to get value for money and sometimes it backfires.

However, it does sound as though the problem at Bahia Principe is fat too widespread to be caused by mass gluttony, and I wish those affected a full and speedy recovery. I just pray that this doesn't do irreparable damage to tourism.
 

KeithF

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if it is a rag why bother posting?

I'm guessing Linda was trying to get some balance across to those who do read the rag and take everything written in it as accurate. Sadly, as Lambada demonstrated, they won't print anything that doesn't suit their argument anyway.

Fortunately, I was able to maintain the moral high ground of not even attempting to post to the rag and therefore not having been rejected ;)

It's silly story season time here as well, last week The Sun was full of a Great White Shark having been spotted off the coast of Cornwall, when it was actually a Basking Shark, and they come here every year, so they will run with this some more unless something else comes along :bored:
 

Lambada

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I know DR1 News reported this as staph bacteria but according to some other papers it is viral - variously described as novovirus or norovirus - 'winter vomiting' virus? Winter??? Mind you the BBC has the hotel as being in Punta Cana so what do they know?
BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Glasgow and West | Glasgow Airport plane quarantined

The AXA newswire says cultures came back negative.
AXA Assistance USA, Inc. Providing Critical Care to UK Tourists During Stomach Virus Outbreak at Bahia Principe Puerto Plata Resort in Rio San Juan, Dominican Republic: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

Plane quarantined in Britain after passengers taken sick - Yahoo! News

Picture here of the Evening Times front page
Scots Tourists Hit By Bug Outbreak At Island Hotel (from Evening Times)

And US papers like the Miami Herald are beginning to report this matter.
Hundreds of tourists sickened by stomach bug in Dominican Republic - 08/09/2007 - MiamiHerald.com
 

susie787

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Jan 18, 2006
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viral infection

hi everyone i just thought id keep you upated on whats going on here.its still on the news every 15 minutes but there saying now its a viral infection which no one could prevent,it could have been someone over here going there ill but the hotel wont speak to anyone which makes people think there hiding something and personally i think they just dont no what is happening.i feel for the tourists but this could happen anywhere and the hotels will be immaculate now. dont judge till you no whats happening.
 

Bracknell_Alan

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Aug 1, 2007
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Coming to DR on Monday for the first time and really really looking forward to it. Staying at Gran Ventana, Playa Dorada.

Of course we will be careful with the water and ice - like we would anywhere in the world (including here at home)

Of course we will be careful with the seafood - like we would anywhere in the world (and it's no coincidence that the shellfish here in the UK is mostly farmed from around sewage outfalls - it's where they seem to like living!)

Of course we will be careful of the curly cornered not so fresh bits on the buffet - like we would anywhere in the world (we live two miles from Ascot Racecourse - scene of the Ladies Day incident referred to above)

Of course we will be careful not to buy ice cream or prepared food from street vendors - like we would anywhere in the world (anyone who takes a kebab or burger off a van in the UK should do so knowing that the seller's hygeine standards might not be as you would like)

Normal common sense precautions will do us just fine. And as has already been said, the hotels will all be extra extra clean with these stories having broken recently.

Don't get me started on the Daily Mail. Everything has to be a fear, scare, panic or chaos. They always wrap these stories around a "Rotting Island of Death" type headline, written from a cosy office in London...

I can't wait to get out there. See you soon.
 
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