Lab tests on samples from a foreigner found dead at an Udon Thani hotel have detected an E. coli strain, but confirmation is pending on whether it was a communicable type, Public Health Ministry permanent secretary Dr Phaijit Warachit said yesterday.

Tests of the unnamed tourist’s blood and urine detected a bacteria called Plesiomonas shigelloides, which is capable of causing diarrhoea. It is a type rarely found in humans, but more often in freshwater fish and clams. The cause of death will also be investigated through police forensic work, Phaijit said.

Read more: The Nation