Two foreign tourists die abnormally in Vietnam

[Pathfinder]

Two foreign tourists die abnormally in Vietnam

Tuoi Tre
Updated : Sat, August 4, 2012,10:25 AM (GMT+0700)

Agencies are investigating the deaths of two foreign female tourists - both in their 20s - who died under abnormal circumstances in the provincial General Hospital after staying in the beachside city of Nha Trang.

At 7:30 pm on July 30, Cathy Huynh, a 26-year-old Canadian citizen who is of Vietnamese origin, took Karin Joy Bowerman, 27, of American nationality, to the Khanh Hoa Province General Hospital.

The two travelers had shared a room at a hotel on Nguyen Thien Thuat Street, in the tourism city of Nha Trang.

When hospitalized, Karin had no injury on her body but suffered from a serious respiratory failure, with her blood pressure dropping to zero.

Karin was put on a respirator and given intensive treatment and care, but she died at 10:30 pm that night.

On the noon of August 1, Cathy suddenly developed a shock, a medical term referring to the organs and tissues of the body not receiving a sufficient flow of blood, and was treated at the same hospital.

Doctors gave her anti-shock therapies and intensive care, but she experienced cardiac arrests during the treatment and died at 2:15 am Thursday.

Doctors have yet to reach a conclusion about the cause of the two deaths, Dr Nguyen Van Xang, deputy director of the hospital, said.

More...

http://www.tuoitrenews.vn/cmlink/tuoitrenews/society/two-foreign-tourists-die-abnormally-in-vietnam-1.82071

[alert]

Re: Two foreign tourists die abnormally in Vietnam

This is markedly different than the Thailand cases. Those cases all took ill simultaneously. Here, the second fatality took ill two days after the first one died. That raises the possibility of a contagious illness.

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Two foreign tourists die abnormally in Vietnam

H/t Diane Morin - machine translation of above.

CANADIAN DEAD IN VIETNAM
Food poisoning considered
QMI AGENCY
Posted on: Saturday, August 4, 2012, 7:47 p.m. | Updated: Saturday, August 4, 2012, 7:53 p.m.


A few weeks after the sudden death of Naomi and Audrey Belanger in Thailand, a Canadian tourist reportedly died of food poisoning in Vietnam.

The Foreign Ministry confirmed the death Saturday, but declined to identify the victim.

The Canadian Embassy in Ho Chi Minh is in contact with local authorities to obtain further information and to provide consular assistance to the family, simply according to the ministry.

A Vietnamese news site reports however that the victim is Cathy Huynh, a Canadian of Vietnamese origin aged 26. She suffered a shock Wednesday and reportedly died of cardiac arrest early Thursday morning.

Last Monday, the young woman had led Karin Joy Bowerman, an American of 27 years, the hospital where she died the same evening, respiratory arrest, according to the website "TuoiTreNews".
...

http://www.journaldequebec.com/2012/08/04/lempoisonnement-alimentaire-envisage

[alert]

Re: Two foreign tourists die abnormally in Vietnam

This is not consistent with the timing of the illness. If they drank too much wine, why would they take ill two days apart?

http://www.tuoitrenews.vn/cmlink/tuoitrenews/society/police-reveal-cause-of-abnormal-deaths-in-nha-trang-1.82165

Huynh Thi Huong, Cathy's mother (second from L), and Michael Huynh (third from L) pictured at a relative's house on August 5, 2012.
Photo: Quynh TrungA forensic investigator of Khanh Hoa province?s Police Department, who declined to be named, believes that drinking too much wine might have led to the death of the two foreign visitors to Nha Trang, who have recently died mysteriously at a local public hospital.

He pled to inform Tuoi Tre News of the real cause of their death as soon as they have the official results of the autopsy tests but he did not say how long it will take.

However, when reached by Tuoi Tre News, Huynh Thi Huong, mother of 26-year-old Canadian Cathy Huynh, one of the two deceased victims, claimed that her daughter does not have a habit of drinking alcohol.

?She often drank a little at parties but she never consumed beer or wine during vacations,? Huong said.

[alert]

Re: Two foreign tourists die abnormally in Vietnam

Again, two separate poisonings? Could it be a serial killer?

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/1237207--canadian-citizen-dies-in-vietnam

[snip]

Two days later, Huynh was treated in the same hospital for symptoms of shock. While under intensive care, Huynh reportedly suffered several cardiac arrests. She died at 2:15 a.m. Thursday, reports said.

Doctors told Tuoi Tre News that it is unclear why the women died, but a forensic investigator said it’s likely they were poisoned.

[snip]

[Pathfinder]

Re: Two foreign tourists die abnormally in Vietnam

Foreign deaths: tourists vomited but conscious
Updated : Tue, August 7, 2012,10:50 AM (GMT+0700)

The two female tourists who died in Nha Trang beachside city were fully conscious upon being hospitalized at a military hospital. The two later died at another state-owned hospital under unusual circumstances.

>> Doctor denies alcohol as cause of tourist deaths
>> Foreign tourists die from wine? Family disagree
>> Police probe into deaths of 2 tourists in Nha Trang
>> Two foreign tourists die abnormally in Vietnam

26-year-old Canadian citizen Cathy Huynh and her travelling American companion Karin Joy Bowerman (27) arrived at the military hospital on a taxi. Although fully conscious, Karin continuously writhed upon being hospitalized at about 7:00 pm on July 30, said Dr. Ngo Thi Thanh Tam, vice head of Khanh Hoa Military Hospital’s emergency service and intensive care unit (ICU).

Cathy Huynh, who was of Vietnamese descent and could speak Vietnamese, told Dr. Tam that she and Karin had been vomiting since July 30 with Karin alone having vomited up to 15 times.

According to Dr. Tam, Karin had a heart rate of 164 beats per minute while a normal person just has 60 to 80 beats a minute.

Due to her deteriorating health conditions, Karin was then transferred to the Khanh Hoa General Hospital 10 minutes later.

This latter hospital applied necessary measures but she died at 10:40pm on July 30.

As for Cathy, she was treated at the military hospital until she was discharged at 9:30pm on July 30.

Dr. Tam admitted that Cathy vomited but the Canadian woman was in stable condition.

After being discharged, Cathy went back to her hotel room on Nguyen Thien Thuat Street in Nha Trang, telling the hotel’s owner that she was fine.

The owner told Tuoi Tre that on the afternoon of July 30, the two said they felt tired and had him call a taxi to drive them to hospital.

“They were still able to walk…I heard Karin died…Cathy was back at the hotel and claimed she was still OK,” the owner said.

He added that one day after Karin’s death, Cathy Huynh went in and out of the hotel as normal until the afternoon of August 1 when she “complained of tiredness”.

“We gave her rice gruel but she refused and took a taxi to the Khanh Hoa General Hospital by herself,” he said.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Anh Phuong, vice head of the General Hospital’s ICU unit, told Tuoi Tre that Karin was admitted to the hospital suffering from a serious respiratory failure and palpitation with blood pressure dropping to zero.

Meanwhile, Cathy Huynh was in stable condition when hospitalized on August 1, said Dr. Pham Dinh Chi, another deputy head of the ICU unit.

“She had no injury but appeared to develop a shock,” Dr. Chi said.

Cathy was given anti-shock therapies and intensive care but her health got worse and she passed away on the dawn of August 2. According to her family members, she died at 2:45am.


More...

http://www.tuoitrenews.vn/cmlink/tuoitrenews/society/foreign-deaths-tourists-vomited-but-conscious-1.82365

[alert]

Re: Two foreign tourists die abnormally in Vietnam

Nice find, Pathfinder. Well, that patches up any discrepancy in the timing; while they died 2 days apart, they took ill at the same time, at least according to that report.

[Emily]

Re: Two foreign tourists die abnormally in Vietnam

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...y-Vietnam.html

Two young female teachers suffer mysterious and agonizing deaths two days apart after 'being poisoned while on holiday in Vietnam’

American Karin Joy Bowerman, 27, fell ill and died from respiratory failure
Her Canadian friend Cathy Huynh, 26, collapsed and died just two days later
Cause of deaths unknown, but investigators believe they were poisoned
Pair shared a room at guesthouse in resort city of Nha Trang
Case similar to Canadian sisters who mysteriously died in Thai hotel room

By Shari Miller and Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 05:46 EST, 6 August 2012 | UPDATED: 17:20 EST, 6 August 2012
[snip]
Forensic official Pham Xuan Thong said authorities have not been able to determine the cause, but it was likely they had been poisoned.

He said samples will be analysed at the National Forensic Examination Center in Hanoi.

Authorities are co-ordinating with the U.S. and Canadian consulates in Ho Chi Minh City to investigate the case...

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz23gUdD4E7

http://www.tuoitrenews.vn/cmlink/tuo...deaths-1.82231

Doctor denies alcohol as cause of tourist deaths
Tuoitrenews
Updated : Mon, August 6, 2012,12:49 PM (GMT+0700)
Dr. Mai Dinh Trung, former head of the Khanh Hoa Province General Hospital’s emergency service and intensive care unit, explained to Tuoi Tre News that toxic substances in alcohol or food often have an instant impact on the victims.

He added food or alcohol poisoning is definitely not linked to their deaths because they shared a hotel room, had same disease symptoms and died nearly two days apart. Dr. Trung is an experienced doctor in his 60s who has just retired from the hospital.

But Trung did not exclude the possibility of other kinds of poisoning....

Karin's cell phone is missing and her tissue samples may not have been sent to the National Institute of Forensic Medicine in Hanoi for analysis until August 14:

http://www.tuoitrenews.vn/cmlink/tuo...police-1.83227