Chiang Mai proge Deaths of 6 tourists

Chiang Mai deaths probe identifies causes

The revelation of a sixth fatality and the results of an investigation by Thailand's Department of Disease Control has shed new light on the series of mysterious deaths of tourists in Chiang Mai. The sixth death involved a Frenchwoman - one of two who fell sick, a media release from the department seen by the Phuket Wan newswire says. It highlighted the exceptional nature of a complaint that appears to have struck down six young women aged 23-33 between January 9 and February 4 this year, killing three of them. These three deaths - the unnamed Frenchwoman, New Zealander Sarah Carter, 23, and a 33-year-old American - have been linked by the media to three other deaths, British pensioners George and Eileen Everitt, and Thai guide Waraporn Pungmahisiranon, 47. The investigation ''found four clinically confirmed cases of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and another two patients with mild symptoms. The media release says autopsies on two of the dead patients (American and French) were done by forensic medical experts from Chiang Mai University. ''The autopsies found nothing abnormal except for inflammation of the heart muscle,'' it says. The results will be studied by the World Health Organisation and health authorities in the US, France and the UK. The report carefully distinguishes between the cases involving the six young women and the other cases. ''In a separate episode, since 3 February, there were three other deaths in the same hotel where the three New Zealanders stayed,'' it says. ''This included an elderly British couple and a 47-year-old Thai woman. ''As these three deaths occurred outside the hospital, the police took charge of the investigation. ''The autopsies of the two elderly Britons found a high degree of coronary occlusion while the examination of the Thai woman found no inflammation of the heart muscle or any other clear evidence to explain the cause of her death,'' the report found.