Tourists snub Dominican Republic after spate of mysterious deaths

The family of Miranda Schaup-Wener, 41, who also died at the end of May, at the Luxury Bahia Principe Bouganville hotel, said she collapsed after having a drink from the minibar. An autopsy found she died of a heart attack. 

Soon questions were being asked of more instances, including deaths from 2018.

Tourists told CNN of “chemical smells” at different resorts in the Dominican Republic, dating back as far as 2016, and suffering stomach cramps, diarrhoea and dizziness. 

“[The Dominican Republic] probably has some indication of what it could be or what it might not be,” Dr Amesh Adalja, from the Johns Hopkins Centre for Health Security, told the Associated Press.

“The longer they keep everybody in suspense, the worse it is going to be for the Dominican Republic, especially when they are so dependent on tourism. Because the longer this goes on unexplained, the longer people are going to be leery of going there.”