Foreign Office record of 28 nations the place UK travellers ‘at poison threat’ | Travel News | Travel | EUROtoday

The UK Foreign Office has prolonged its record of ‘hazard’ nations the place travellers face severe threat following a collection of poisonings. An extra 11 nations have been added to the warning record, alerting holidaymakers to the hazards of methanol poisoning from tainted alcoholic drinks.

The up to date journey steering now consists of Bangladesh, India, Iran, Jordan, Libya, Malawi, Malaysia, Morocco, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, and Rwanda following “a global increase in the number of reported cases” of methanol poisoning.

Ecuador, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Russia and Uganda had been added to the prevailing record final month, following a number of high-profile incidents together with the deaths of six vacationers in Laos in 2024.

Travellers are being warned that even small quantities of methanol may cause blindness or demise inside 12 to 48 hours.

Methanol is a poisonous industrial alcohol current in antifreeze, windscreen washer fluid and paint thinner. It will not be appropriate for human consumption.

While it varieties naturally throughout the manufacturing of alcoholic drinks, business producers scale back it to minimal, protected ranges for human consumption via distillation.

However, in some nations, it’s illegally added to alcoholic drinks to chop prices, and since it has no style or odor, it can’t be detected. Simone White, a 28 12 months previous lawyer from south-east London, tragically misplaced her life in November after consuming complimentary pictures at a hostel bar in Laos, south-east Asia.

She had been travelling together with her buddy Bethany Clarke, who was additionally hospitalised with methanol poisoning however luckily survived.

Shadow schooling secretary Laura Trott has highlighted that methanol poisoning represents “a huge danger but barely any of us know about it”. The incident additionally claimed the lives of two Australians, two Danish ladies and an American, all suspected victims of methanol poisoning.

The Foreign Office has launched a marketing campaign providing steering on decreasing dangers and recognising signs of methanol poisoning.

Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer emphasised that each one travellers should concentrate on the warning indicators. “If you’re drinking spirits overseas, stick to trusted places and avoid homemade alcohol or free shots,” Falconer suggested.

“If something feels off, like a hangover that’s way worse than normal or vision problems – get medical help fast.”

The complete record of nations flagged as potential methanol poisoning dangers consists of:

• Brazil
• Bangladesh
• Cambodia
• Costa Rica
• Ecuador
• Fiji,
• India
• Indonesia
• Iran
• Japan
• Jordan
• Kenya
• Laos
• Libya
• Malawi
• Malaysia
• Mexico
• Morocco
• Nepal
• Nigeria
• Papua New Guinea
• Peru
• Russia
• Rwanda
• Thailand
• Turkey
• Uganda
• Vietnam