CDC Yellow Book: Health Information for International Travel
“Top takeaway: Healthcare professionals should promote awareness of travel-related injury risks to international travelers.
Carbon monoxide (CO) inhalation, poisoning, and death can occur during fires but also can result from exposure to improperly vented heating devices (see Air Quality and Ionizing Radiation During Travel chapter; and Poisonings, Envenomations, and Toxic Exposures During Travel chapter). Travelers might want to bring a personal CO detector that can sound an alert in the presence of this lethal gas. Engine exhaust is a dangerous, unanticipated source of CO poisoning; remind travelers to avoid diving and swimming off the back of boats where exhaust fumes typically discharge.”
“In 2023, John Heathco and his girlfriend, Abby, were supposed to be enjoying a long weekend by the beach in Mexico, but within hours of getting to their hotel, they felt like something was off.
‘They had a couple tacos and some guacamole by the pool, went back to the room and started feeling awful,’ said Chuck Heathco, father of John.
They thought it was food poisoning, but John Heathco’s family said the couple’s hotel room had been filled with a silent killer: carbon monoxide….The Heathco family is speaking for the first time as they launch the John Wesley Heathco Legacy Foundation, an effort to legally require hotels to have working carbon monoxide detectors in each room. Currently, only 14 states mandate it, including: California, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin.”
Family fights for carbon monoxide safety after personal tragedy: “Tremendous hole in our heart” – CBS News
“As for where to place the device, (NFPA) offers this guidance: ‘Carbon monoxide is the same composition as air, so placement varies by manufacturer, but does not need to be installed like a smoke alarm. You can place it on a dresser in your sleeping room to provide protection. If you use a plug-in alarm, it would be best to plug it into an outlet that is as close to where you’re sleeping as possible.’”
Why Experts Say To Bring a CO Detector on Your Vacation
“Policies differ across hotel chains, but home vacation rental companies Airbnb and VRBO allow guests to search for properties with a carbon monoxide alarm when booking, and both strongly encourage hosts to install the devices.
But this online information isn’t always accurate, said Kris Hauschildt, founder of the Jenkins Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to preventing carbon monoxide poisoning.
Hauschildt, who started the foundation after her parents died from hotel carbon monoxide poisoning in 2013, said she recently booked an Airbnb that advertised a carbon monoxide alarm, only to arrive and find there wasn’t one.
‘This is the fourth rental I’ve stayed in where this has happened,’ Hauschildt told Health. ‘Hosts have all been responsive to immediately address the issue, but it obviously highlights that safety continues to be in the hands of the consumer.’”
Should You Travel with Your Own Carbon Monoxide Alarm?
An unusual case of CO poisoning…
The couple died during their stay at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in Hurghada, Egypt –
“Dr James Adeley, senior coroner for Lancashire sitting at Preston Coroner’s Court, ruled that the deaths on August 21, 2018 were caused by the spraying of the pesticide containing dichloromethane, in the adjoining room and the couple then inhaling the vapour resulting in their deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning… in less developed countries the pesticide Lambda is sometimes diluted with another substance, dichloromethane, which causes the body to metabolise or ingest carbon monoxide.”
Daughter whose parents died abroad calls for tour operators to take responsibility over hotel safety
“‘You don’t expect your parents to die in front of you within hours of one another’.
Kelly Ormeod is calling for tour operators to take more responsibility for safety in hotels abroad after her parents died of carbon monoxide poisoning in Egypt.”
CO poisoning can cause sudden illness and death in any season.
Poisonous Gas is a Hidden Danger for Travelers | Newark, NJ Patch
“The best way to protect yourself from toxic levels of this gas is by having a working carbon monoxide detector that can alert you if you are in danger.”
The Importance of Traveling with a Portable Carbon Monoxide Detector (yahoo.com)
“Recent traveler deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning in hotels and home rentals serve as reminders why this safety device is a packing list essential. Here’s what you need to know to protect yourself.”
This Is the Travel Carbon Monoxide Detector I Always Pack – AFAR
Hyatt Hotel Rancho Pescadero in El Pescadero in the state of Baja California Sur –
“In a statement Wednesday, the local attorney general’s office said both had died from “intoxication by substance to be determined.” Earlier reports of the deaths suggested more specifically that gas inhalation was suspected.”
Two Americans Found Dead Inside Luxury Mexican Hotel Room (yahoo.com)
“A Hyatt spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about whether rooms at Rancho Pescadero, which start at more than $600 a night, are equipped with carbon monoxide detectors.”
Two Americans found dead in luxury hotel room in Mexico – Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)
Current and former employees at a luxury hotel in Mexico where two Americans were found dead said managers ignored signs of a possible gas leak and disabled carbon monoxide detectors so alarms would not disturb guests.
Mexican resort where 2 Californians died ignored gas leaks, workers say – Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)
“’They knew there were problems with a gas leak,’ Ricardo Carbajal, the former night manager of Rancho Pescadero, told The Los Angeles Times.
Mr Carbajal, who stopped working at the luxury hotel in March, said carbon monoxide detectors went off frequently over a period of three months last year before hotel managers disabled the alarms due to noise complaints.”
https://news.yahoo.com/mexico-hotel-where-us-couple-144419764.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHvryhnD21sSU0Dft0i1-71TxlTqmK8fKZbR-GLnlIGDxAxfOkzyvaAtFC5P_LhSQdO0YRkOB1pOxJfGLql-Cv5Qw7zjKFZG9qneAaKwZVdtUGHthw0c16slEOE8e1zzQxVpXugV4l4_czvemhY8foh_5ozyqm9V45dnYfZmJ-K7
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