Pina colada hospitalizations in Fiji not the results of illicit medication or methanol

Seven people hospitalized in Fiji over the weekend after drinking pina coladas at a resort bar were not victims of methanol poisoning or illicit drugs, Fijian officials say.

Officials tested the ingredients and liquor used in the pina coladas to determine whether they caused the nausea, vomiting and neurological issues suffered by the sick tourists.

“I can confirm that no illicit substances or methanol were found in the ingredients or liquor samples,” Fijian Tourism Minister Viliame Gavoka said at a press conference Wednesday.

All seven people, including four Australians and an American, who fell ill at the Warwick Fiji resort near the town of Sigatoka on Saturday have since recovered. One of the people who fell sick was a Fijian local, Mr. Gavoka clarified at the press conference, though he provided no details about the seventh victim.

Methanol is a toxic, cheaper form of alcohol than the ethanol spirits typically used in mixed drinks, and can be cut into said drinks in order to lower the price.

Fijian officials, however, were already skeptical that the pina coladas were the cause of the illness in this case, because other people drinking them at the Warwick Fiji bar did not fall ill.

“Pina colada is the drink here. A lot of people drank pina colada, but it only affected these six or seven people. I think there’s something else we need to identify,” Mr. Gavoka said previously, according to Australian news site News.com.au.

Health Secretary Jemesa Tudravu said that chemical reactions or infections could be at play instead, according to the Associated Press. Health officials are continuing to investigate the cause.

Some had speculated that methanol could have caused the sickness, especially in light of an incident in Laos last month. It is suspected that methanol-cut drinks led to the illness and deaths of two Australian women, two Danish women, a British woman and an American man who visited a backpacker hostel in Vang Vieng, Laos.

The Warwick Fiji resort wrote Tuesday on Facebook that they “maintain the highest standards of food and beverage safety” and “remain committed to the health and safety of our guests … as we investigate this unfortunate incident.”