Holiday from hell: How eating Pad Thai from food court in Thailand left Aussie couple with debilitating illness

[Schtrick]

What a load of <deleted>!!! Phad Thai? Give me a break! Has the doctor published findings and had it peer reviewed? Nonsense

[Schtrick]

1 minute ago, Schtrick said:

What a load of <deleted>!!! Phad Thai? Give me a break! Has the doctor published findings and had it peer reviewed? Nonsense

Didn't know I couldn't say B*llocks

[Lacessit]

9 hours ago, ocddave said:

I usually try to zap (microwave) every meal here when I get a chance (wife brings food home, or orders it local), I don't usually eat out, unless its a higher end restaurant. I think I have been slightly sick maybe 3-4 times in the last 3 years, nothing as bad as after eating an airline meal while en route to Thailand from Japan (Japanese Dish), wanted to die after that meal.

Agree. AFAIK there is no bacteria, parasite or virus that can survive four minutes of being microwaved.

[mmushr00m]

It took them 4 tries to find a doctor who was willing to treat them with antibiotics...

 

That leads me to question the veracity of their story.

[4MyEgo]

10 hours ago, Lacessit said:

If that first world country you are referring to is Australia, it averages about 5 million cases of food poisoning a year. Pretty high for a population of 23 million people.

A former GF, who co-owned a restaurant in Canada, said people would never eat in any restaurant if they saw what went on in the kitchen.

I've travelled all over the world too. Been sick from food poisoning once here in ten years, a frozen meal.

Having said that, I am rather watchful. I don't eat food that is not cooked in front of me in a food court. I go to restaurants and street stalls that have a lot of customers. I regard ice in beer as an abomination. I only drink water I have boiled myself.

Fussbudgets like myself rarely have problems. It's the careless ones who get themselves in doo-doo.

 

At least in Australia they record the cases of food poisoning, high yes, but at least there is a record, as Thailand doesn't record the cases of food poisoning occurring every year and still allows the use of pesticides and chemicals that have been banned worldwide, thankfully we grow our own veggies and buy from places we know do not use such pesticides and chemicals that will harm us, well at least hope.

 

I reckon if there was a record of annual food poisoning cases in Thailand it would be off the richter scale.

[4MyEgo]

10 hours ago, brianj1964 said:

So how would you know if the Thai chefs that cook for you have been trained in Europe?

slate Thai chefs and Thai restaurants that you haven't eaten in and then say you are not Thai bashing, hilarious, 

By talking to the long established farang owners of the places that I have frequented over the year when in those touristy areas, not all Thai chef's are trained in Europe, let alone are chef's, you don't have to be Einstein to work that out, but then again there are some of us that cannot read between the lines.

 

Nothing hilarious about stating that I am not Thai bashing, but if you got a laugh out of it, carry on laughing at your self.

[Lacessit]

2 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

At least in Australia they record the cases of food poisoning, high yes, but at least there is a record, as Thailand doesn't record the cases of food poisoning occurring every year and still allows the use of pesticides and chemicals that have been banned worldwide, thankfully we grow our own veggies and buy from places we know do not use such pesticides and chemicals that will harm us, well at least hope.

 

I reckon if there was a record of annual food poisoning cases in Thailand it would be off the richter scale.

You may be right. I've observed Thais tend to cluster around street stalls and restaurants that provide good food. There's a restaurant in my GF's village that opens up in hope most days, and I've never seen a single customer in it. I give the owner full marks for perseverance - none for smarts.

As for pesticides and chemicals, at age 76 I've stopped worrying. If they haven't killed me by now, IMO they aren't going to.

[Grandpa Cool]

22 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Agree. AFAIK there is no bacteria, parasite or virus that can survive four minutes of being microwaved.

And no vitamins, minerals or life force either!

[RJRS1301]

1 hour ago, mmushr00m said:

It took them 4 tries to find a doctor who was willing to treat them with antibiotics...

 

That leads me to question the veracity of their story.

Yeah reads likea drama queen hissy fit, bet they did not get from the Pad Thai

 

[boonrawdcnx]

Wow all the informed comments here are amazing.
People talking about food poisoning when D. fragilis has nothing to do at all with food poisoning because it is a parasite.

Actually doctors have done a great job coming up with this diagnoses because it can take a long time to detect this parasite in the human body and it can take months to cancel out other causes for the symptoms and single out this specific parasite as the cause.
Often multiple stool samples have to be taken from the patients because the parasite goes often undetected or can easily be misdiagnosed.

How they come up with the Pad Thai as the source of transmission is beyond me - although the parasite is usually digested the transmission could have occurred anyplace with poor sanitation procedures and poor hygiene.



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[boonrawdcnx]

It took them 4 tries to find a doctor who was willing to treat them with antibiotics...
 
That leads me to question the veracity of their story.

No responsible doctor will treat you with antibiotics unless the cause if symptoms is established first and it becomes absolutely necessary to start treatment with antibiotics.

Diagnosing a new case of D. fragilis is extremely difficult and time consuming.

The handing out of antibiotics by doctors and over the counter in Thailand is almost criminal as any real trained and knowledgeable medical
professional will attest to you.



Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[wilcopops]

21 hours ago, webfact said:

After repeated visits to the doctor to try and establish what was wrong with them, tests revealed that they had contracted Dientamoeba Fragilis, a dangerous parasite, which they claim was caught from the Pad Thai dish they had eaten at a food court in Thailand.

If this is the premise they are basing this story on, it is laughable.

One has to ask how they decided it was ingested through this food and also why Australian doctors took so long to diagnose this curable disease.

[AlQaholic]

Dientamoeba fragilis is a parasite that lives in the large intestine of humans. Infection is common worldwide, including in the U.S.

Many people infected with dientamoeba fragilis do not have any symptoms. The most common symptoms are diarrhea, stomach pain, and stomach cramping. Loss of appetite and weight, nausea, and fatigue also are common. The infection does not spread from the intestines to other parts of the body.

No one knows how D. fragilis is spread. The parasite is fragile and probably cannot live very long in the environment. Infection might be spread by:

Accidentally swallowing pinworm eggs (which might protect this fragile parasite) or the eggs of other parasites.
Swallowing something, such as water or food, or touching (and bringing your fingers to your mouth) something contaminated with stool from someone infected with D. fragilis.

[wilcopops]

5 minutes ago, boonrawdcnx said:

Diagnosing a new case of D. fragilis is extremely difficult and time consuming.

No it, isnt, Diagnosis now is made by examination or PCR testing of a faecal specimen.

 

The problem is that doctors involved did not consider this possibility as a part of the diagnosis process.

[KKr]

12 hours ago, Megascott said:

I also suffer from Memory loss, occasional Diarrhea, occasional Constipation, General sluggishness and Memory loss. Seems normal since last I checked, since these are all symptoms of getting old.

could never understand all these commas, people use commas, what symptoms ?

[wilcopops]

13 minutes ago, FredGallaher said:

For Australian government web sit. 

Dientamoeba fragilis (D. fragilis) is a single-celled parasite. It is not known for certain whether D. fragilis causes illness or not. D. fragilis is commonly found in faeces, both of people who are well and in people who have diarrhoea or other intestinal symptoms.

 

Most parasitologists would say it causes little or no ill effect. It is a clue for hygiene issues because it spreads mostly through the fecal oral route. It doesn't form cysts or other resistive stages. There is evidence that it be carried by pinworms. 

Finding intestional parasites is a special skill not available in many 1st world hospital labs. A university hospital would be a better bet.   

Just as likely contracted through the family's own self contamination.

[bheard]

When you get food poisoning ,you get it within an hour or so , not days later when you get home ,so their story is a load of rubbish.

Seems like you need to read and comprehend the story. They didn't get the food poisoning of the type you describe (which most people are familiar with) no, they picked up a parasite.
Mate of mine picked up a similar problem in Thailand, stuffed up his life for an extended period.

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[DavisH]

20 hours ago, bkkbudddy said:

Greetings, 

I had many episodes of food poisoning in Thailand!  Therefore,  I'm very careful of what and where I eat in Thailand!

I've had it once in 20 years. Be careful about what you eat and where you eat. Always eat in busy restaurants - Thais know where the good and cheap food it. They can get sick also. Best bet is to cook your own food. 

[wilcopops]

31 minutes ago, DavisH said:

I've had it once in 20 years. Be ccarefulrareful about what you eat and where you eat. Always eat in busy restaurants - Thais know where the good and cheap food it. They can get sick also. Best bet is to cook your own food. 

Had what???? - It seems people are ignoring the main point of this story.... IT IS NOT A BACTERIAL FIRM OF FOOD POISONING.

The family appear to have contracted Dientamoeba fragilis, an amoeba-like PARASITE.

It has to be ingested but it is NOT TREATED WITH ANTIBIOTICS.

Most people who get "food poisoning" have a bacterial infection that may or may nit be gotten from food, just as likely from their own self through hand to mouth contact.

These infections can take SEVERAL DAYS to manifest themselves, a fact which many ignore, preferring just to blame the last thing they ate.

It is aldo highly questionable how the OP family decided on that one particular meal as the source of their infection

[maddermax]

Hard to establish where they got the bug from. I have some friends who have just returned from a trip from Perth to the UK. They believe they caught a flu bug on the flight from Perth to Singapore which ruined their UK holiday and knocked them back for 3 weeks. They are still on antibiotice since returning to Perth. I believe all airlines provide face masks if requested but obviously do not publish the fact that they are available!

[wilcopops]

4 hours ago, RJRS1301 said:

Wonder what they may have eaten at the resort.

Hard to think the parasites would survive high cooking temp of the pad Thai. 

Always eat street food, high temp cooking, fresh, never stuff that prepared and sitting out though.

Only time sick from food in Thailand was from the restaurant in 5 star hotel

 

 

Come on.....that's not the right thought process.

Pad thai is served with raw beansprouts and veggies ..... There is also how plates and eating apparati are used.

However it is still inexplicable how they singled out tis one meal.

[bert bloggs]

45 minutes ago, bheard said:

Seems like you need to read and comprehend the story. They didn't get the food poisoning of the type you describe (which most people are familiar with) no, they picked up a parasite.
Mate of mine picked up a similar problem in Thailand, stuffed up his life for an extended period.

Sent from my SM-T385 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

So how do they know they got it from the Pad Thai? and not something they ate before they came on holiday?

[Dumbastheycome]

21 hours ago, lannarebirth said:

I've had food poisoning  exactly twice in Thailand. Both times after eating the same dish, Hoy Tod. It's  freaking delicious, but doesn't  seem to agree with me. Signs arose within the hour, vomitting, then all well. Imay giveit another go next time I'm back.

You are not alone in that ! I avoid any prepared food that has shellfish or prawns or shrimp.

I have no problems with packaged frozen imported. I wonder if it is the source or the handling that causes the problem. I once purchased a "fresh" large sea perch with the intent to fillet it. Unfortunately due to events it was left in the refrigerator  for about 15 days so I decided maybe unsafe so left it out on the roadside (rural ) for stray animals to eat. 4 days later was completely  untouched so I  buried it.

I concluded I was fortunate  to have avoided probable formalin or borax poisoning ! I also made an apology to the wildlife ! lol

[MRToMRT]

The Dr in the video says 25% of people already have this microbe in their gut. So it just seems this couple had a non-normal reaction? The Dr further says that many Drs believe this microbe is not a problem to us. Their eventual cure was antibiotics (a one month regime) which would wipe out everything in their system?

It seems to be a questionable reporting with a bias toward a headline rather than science. 

 

 

[RJRS1301]

3 minutes ago, FredGallaher said:

My problem with these and similar posts via web facts are that they are really poor journalism. State the fact and leave out the inference. The fact is this couple were diagnosed with a parasite. They had vacationed in Thailand. They could have just as easily got in Perth or somewhere else. To say it was from eating Pad Thai and not something else is baseless. I'd rate as 80% fake news at best.

There are problems with journalism everywhere because of adding or leaving out essential information. Unless they know otherwise readers tend to believe because it's in print. Readers here raise legitimate concerns which is good. How can I believe anything based on Thai Visa Web Facts? 

The same report, was also on some Australian sites today, so I am guess that is where the WebFacts came from.

 

 

[ZeVonderBearz]

If you eat a meat and seafood diet the possibility of food poisoning is heightened. 

[tandor]

18 hours ago, Catoni said:

A general anti-parasitic medication will take care of many.....  not all .... but many various parasites.   He's probably covering about 70% of parasites if he and his family are taking a general anti-parasitic. 

    Now of course that is not total 100% protection from all possible parasites.  But it's not bad.. 

..why reply then.

[Chalard]

23 hours ago, bert bloggs said:

When you get food poisoning ,you get it within an hour or so , not days later when you get home ,so their story is a load of rubbish.

If you had have read the story published in Oz, they were sick that night.  Also they had 2 pad thài's... 

Their 2 kids apparently didn't eat it.??? No mention of them being sick...

The truth will be revealed shortly...  lol  55555

[wilcopops]

2 hours ago, maddermax said:

a flu bug on the flight from Perth to Singapore which ruined their UK holiday and knocked them back for 3 weeks. They are still on antibiotice since returning to Perth.

Flu is a VIRUS......antibiotics will do nothing! 

[wilcopops]

23 hours ago, bert bloggs said:

When you get food poisoning ,you get it within an hour or so , not days later when you get home ,so their story is a load of rubbish.

Absolute nonsense! "Food poisoning" can take. days before it manifests.

A secondary facet of this story is it is revealing the appalling lack of knowledge with regards to food poisoning and things medical that many TV members have.