Sawt Falasteen - Fiji rules out alcohol poisoning in tourists' mystery illness

The tourists -- who included four Australians and an American -- were stricken on Saturday after drinking pina coladas at the five-star Warwick Fiji resort, government officials have said.

The seven guests -- all but one of them foreigners -- have since recovered and been released from hospital, tourism minister Viliame Gavoka told a live-streamed news conference in the capital Suva.

"I can confirm that no illicit substances or methanol were found in the ingredients or liquor samples," he said.

"The finding that there is no evidence of alcohol poisoning is great news for Fiji, especially for our vital tourism industry."

But the government was unable as yet to explain what affected the tourists, who officials described as suffering from "nausea, vomiting and neurological symptoms".

All of them had been drinking cocktails in the same bar at the resort, which lies on the Coral Coast about 60 kilometres (40 miles) west of the capital.

"The investigation will continue. We want to get to the bottom of this -- you know, why did they get ill. So we will stay focused," the tourism minister said.

Gavoka urged foreign governments to "take away the word spike" from their travel advisories.

Australia issued a travel advisory for Fiji on Sunday telling tourists to "be alert to the potential risks around drink spiking and methanol poisoning through consuming alcoholic drinks".

Fiji's permanent secretary for health, Jemesa Tudravu, said there were many possible causes for the symptoms the tourists had, including infections or chemicals.

Tudravu said the drinks did not contain illicit drugs or excess alcohol. But he said the toxicology investigation was "currently continuing".

The hospitalisations sent a shudder through the tourism industry in Fiji, where officials say close to a million people visit each year.

In a separate incident in Laos last month, two Danish citizens, an American, a Briton and two Australians died of suspected methanol poisoning following what local media said was a night out in the town of Vang Vieng.

W.AbuLaban--SF-PST