another aussie gets shafted in bali

It's hoped a Newcastle nurse suffering severe health effects from drinking a cocktail contaminated with methanol can be flown to John Hunter Hospital, where she works, for treatment. Jamie Johnston, 25, was on holiday on the Indonesian island of Lombok when she consumed a drink of arak, a distilled palm wine.
Print page Email this Permalink ShareTwo weeks ago, a day after drinking the "jungle juice", she collapsed with renal failure at Denpasar Airport in Bali.

Ms Johnston slipped into a coma and has sustained brain scarring, leaving her struggling to speak.

She spent several days being treated in Bali before being evacuated to Darwin, and her mother now wants to bring her home to Newcastle.

Neither of the women had taken out travellers' insurance.

Four foreigners were among 25 people killed by a batch of methanol-tainted arak in Bali in 2009.

Toxicologist Dr Ian White, from Newcastle's Calvary Mater Hospital, says Ms Johnston's drink may not have been deliberately spiked.

He told 1233 ABC Newcastle's Jill Emberson methanol can be an unwanted by-product of a poor distillation process.

"When you make or distill your own alcohol it's possible for methanol to be produced as part of the distillation process, if you're not very careful with how you do it," Dr White explains.

"Methanol is similar to alcohol but it's slightly different chemically.

"It's used in paint and varnish removers and as an industrial solvent."

He says while in Australia methanol is mostly used in chemical labs, in the US it's used as an anti-freeze in windscreen-wiper solution, and they have many more cases of methanol poisoning there than we do here.

"It's a colourless, odourless liquid, you can't tell if it's in the drink that you're drinking," Dr White says.

"Initially, drinking methanol you get the same sorts of effects as drinking ethanol, so you get intoxicated."

But he says the problem with methanol is that hours later, enzymes in your body convert it into an acid, formic acid.

"And that acid is very potent, makes your whole body very acidic and damages organs in your body," the doctor says.

"In particular it can damage your kidneys and give you acute kidney failure, which I understand this girl has.

"It can damage your sight, it can damage your nerves from your eye and make you blind."

Dr White says some of the damage can be permanent, such as visual problems and brain injury, but much depends on the amount of methanol consumed.

"Essentially for most adults you could say that about 100 to 200ml of methanol is likely to be fatal," he says.

The toxicologist says there have been some methanol poisonings in Australia, mostly involving cultures with a tradition of distilling their own alcohol.

He recommends travellers stick to consuming alcohol from conventional, labelled bottles.

NSW Health Minister, Jillian Skinner, is trying to help Ms Johnston's mother get her daughter airlifted home to Newcastle.

"This is really important to get back home to treatment that you trust, close to family and friends," the Minister says.

"There was a cost getting her to Darwin and I'm seeing if we can help getting her back to John Hunter in Newcastle."

Maybe not going to this dodgy place would help too.

What's the appeal of Bali?

Cheap, most peeps are friendly, good party place, good surf, nice wheather, nice scenery, 3 hours flyght from Perth, nice food!
Have you been there!
You must be street wise, do not buy drugs, do not drink water, drink only from sealed bottles, if you drink in a small bar buy the full bottle and ask to see it b4 opening (bottle of arak is about $ 10-00) do not eat raw food!
You can be ripped off anywhere in the world!

I luv Bali

But last year the hotel I stayed at, there were a family of boguns staying by the pool. What a rude pack of animals! And they were from WA. Oh the shame

None of my family would act like that os, why do people loose their minds on holiday and think they can do whatever they want!!

No I've never been there. The closest is a stop over in Bangkok for a couple of days on my way to Pakistan. Pakistan.... now there is a crazy place! It could be a top place for tourists if the country wasn't run by religious nut jobs, the army, feudal overlords and criminal gangs. They are usually one and the same.

+1 for loving Bali.

Some people just need to pull their****** head in when they are on holidays.
They think they can just go there and do whatever the hell they like.
It's not your country. It's someone elses home. Show some respect.

As for this poor girl getting sick. Absolutely terrible thing to happen and my thoughts go out to her and her family.
BUT you can get sick anywhere in the world. Not just indo.

And as for buying drugs or "apparantly" getting them pushed on you...
Say no if you don't want them. You have a voice don't you. Biggest cop out ever.
You want em you run the risk of doing time so don't whinge when you get set up or caught.
(And yes i've got on it in Bali several times by my OWN choice)

Yes you can get sick anywhere, but there are not many countries where buying an alcoholic beverage could result in methanol poisoning.
Ever heard of anyone buying a bourbon and coke in an aussie bar and actually getting methanol instead of ethanol?

Get what u pay for.

Well said CMC,I also travel there for business and R&R,lost count maybe 18 trips or so,first timers just need to have their game face on and not got TOO loose otherwise your a walking target.

mmmmmm - beerful , berlei-less broads & bogan-less holidays , bring 'em all on!

the 21st century nightclub in frankston was temporarily closed in the late nineties when the "vodka" was found to be diluted with methanol.

just got back from Lombok, first time there and will return with family next year. Surfed Ekas and Grupuk, with Ekas being the better. Bogan free as far as I could see but be wary of the new airport as it's pretty mad, 1000 locals standing at the fence watching the planes takeoff!! Muslim country with a very friendly approach to the locals, traffic was Ok with new roads everywhere, the coast around Kuta and Grupuk is awesome but they need a Coastcare as the plastic tide was a bit off putting. The party island is Gili Trawangan, plenty of stories about wild stuff going on, bit like full moon parties in Kho Samui in Thailand. Bali is slowly going to s**t IMO and I will not return unless in Seminyak.