The Peruvian Ministry of Health announced that at least 54 people have died from methanol poisoning in Peru since mid-September.
The deaths occurred when the number of hospitalizations due to methanol poisoning increased significantly in and around Lima.
Authorities linked this to bottled alcoholic beverages contaminated with this toxic substance.
The Ministry of Health said that 117 cases of methanol poisoning were registered last month.
The agency is working with leaders in Peru’s capital to raise awareness about contaminated drinks and how to recognize the first symptoms of methanol poisoning.
“This is the highest number of methanol poisonings in recent years,” the head of the ministry’s National Center for Epidemiology, Eduardo Ortega, told AFP.
On Sunday, October 16, the Ministry of Health strongly advised against consuming the vodka passion fruit and piña colada drinks of the company “Punto D’Oro,” sold in two-liter plastic bottles.
The General Directorate of Environmental Health and Food Safety in Peru (Digea) conducted tests that found the bottles of both flavors contained methanol, an ingredient in windshield washer fluid, and antifreeze that is toxic and potentially fatal if consumed.
The Health Department warned that the drinks could “seriously harm the health of people who ingest them.”
It has taken steps to remove the products from liquor stores and supermarkets and encourages anyone who sees them being sold to inform local authorities.
The warning came after dozens of cases of poisoning were reported in hospitals in and around the capital, Lima.
According to the Methanol Institute, a global trade association, “unscrupulous companies or individuals” sometimes intentionally add methanol to alcoholic beverages as a cheaper alternative to safe and consumable ethanol.
The association says that poisoning can also occur from improper brewing of homemade alcohol.
Symptoms of methanol poisoning include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, difficulty breathing, blindness, visual disturbances, seizures, and coma, according to the institute.
Methanol toxicity outbreaks have been reported from around the world.
In 2019, Costa Rica issued a nationwide warning against alcoholic beverages that may be contaminated with the chemical after a spike in cases of fatal methanol poisoning.
In July of this year, methanol poisoning at a bar in South Africa was believed to have killed 21 teenagers.
With information from Latina Press
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
Read More from The Rio Times