ATLANTA — Another vacation destination has come under scrutiny for tainted alcohol.
A new report from Costa Rica’s Ministry of Health says 25 people died and dozens more were hospitalized there due to tainted alcohol, according to NBC News.
Costa Rica has closed 10 establishments and seized 55,000 bottles of alcohol laced with methanol, a colorless, poisonous alcohol found in antifreeze. Adding it to bottles can allow sellers to increase the potency and the amount of liquid in a bottle.
According to the CDC, methanol poisoning can come with symptoms like drowsiness, confusion, headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, comas, seizures and heart or respiratory failure.
A June 2018 study from the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking found illicit alcohol makes up 19 percent of Costa Rica’s total sales.
In the Dominican Republic, it's closer to 29 percent and in Mexico 34 percent, both countries where Americans have reported concerns about deaths or illnesses following vacations. In some cases, people have gotten sick after consuming drinks from minibars in their rooms.
The Costa Rican Ministry of Health says the 19 men and six women who have died in the country since June were between the ages of 32 and 72 -- none of them were Americans. However, tourists from the U.S. remain at risk when traveling.
The FBI is running toxicology tests on at least two of about a dozen Americans who died in the Dominican Republic, checking to see if tainted alcohol had a role in the deaths. It's not clear if that testing includes a Georgia man who died there in March.
Meanwhile, vacation properties are working to alleviate concerns.
The Hard Rock Hotel chain has removed liquor dispensers from rooms at its properties in the Dominican Republic and in Mexico.
The Dominican Republic's ministry of tourism said it is increasing safety protocols, with stricter rules for how hotels handle food and alcohol.
While you're out of the country experts warn, if you've never heard of a brand, or the price sounds too good to be true, you should avoid that alcohol.
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