Unlike ethanol, the type of alcohol found in beverages, methanol is highly poisonous even in small quantities. Its ingestion can lead to devastating health consequences, including blindness, organ failure,

The U.S., Australia and U.K. have issued warnings for travelers in Vang Vieng after several tourists died in a suspected methanol poisoning outbreak.

A little town known as a backpacker paradise in northern Laos has come under spotlight for a mass poisoning case that has killed at least six tourists and potentially injured scores of others.

The NHS warns that as little as 4ml of methanol can cause hallucinations and blindness. Half an hour to two hours after consuming methanol symptoms include drowsiness, confusion and irritability. Later symptoms include dizziness, vomiting, severe abdominal pain and diarrhoea.

Poor alcohol production and cost-cutting can lead to methanol poisoning, but drinking legitimate alcohol is a way to slow the effects until help can be sought, a toxicologist said. Five people have reportedly died of poisoning in Laos. A New Zealander who is unwell may also be a victim, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has said.

An Australian teenager has become the sixth foreign tourist to die in a suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos, as a growing list of countries warned of the potentially fatal consequences of drinking tainted alcohol in the Southeast Asian country.

A fifth person, identified as a British woman, has died in connection with a mass alcohol poisoning incident at a tourist spot in Laos, the British government confirmed Thursday.

An Australian teenager has become the fourth person to die in a suspected mass drink-spiking case in Laos where British tourists have also suffered symptoms of methanol poisoning.

The Laotian government on Saturday officially acknowledged the mass poisoning that has killed at least six tourists, pledging it would bring perpetrators to justice