Dozens of Jimmy Buffett fans sickened in Dominican Republic
At least 47 Jimmy Buffett fans reportedly became violently ill while vacationing in the Dominican Republic.
The fans got sick while they were visiting the Hotel Riu Palace Macao during a trip to Punta Cana in April, People reports.
{mosads}Dana Flowers, a member of the Central Oklahoma Parrothead Association fan club and the group’s travel agent, told the magazine that many people were so sick they couldn’t leave their rooms.
Symptoms included headaches, vomiting, severe diarrhea, chills and fevers, he said, adding that some people still don’t feel “normal” two months later, according to People.
Flowers said he lost 14 pounds over the course of 19 days, telling KFOR he “can’t even explain how sick I was.”
At first, the group’s members reportedly thought they were suffering from food poisoning, but noted that they also drank at the swim-up pool bar or simply swam in the pool. Two members tested positive for salmonella when they got home, People reported.
In a statement to KFOR, Hotel Riu said “no more similar cases were registered by other guests” aside from the Buffett fan club.
“We are aware that three guests staying last April at this hotel and coming from the same group (of 120 people) were attended by a possible case of gastroenteritis in our doctor’s office,” the statement reads. “These events occurred after an external activity of this group outside the hotel, so we can not determine the exact origin of the stomach upset.”
The State Department has reportedly confirmed the deaths of at least four Americans in the Dominican Republic in recent months. The FBI has launched a probe into the tourists’ deaths.
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