19 people have died from methanol poisoning in Costa Rica since June after consuming tainted liquor, the country’s government said Friday.
The victims, including fourteen men and five women, ranged in age from 32 to 72, and died in cities all over Costa Rica, including San José, Cartago, Limón, Guanacaste, and Heredia. Three of the deaths are still under investigation.
Officials confiscate contaminated alcohol
Costa Rica said that it had confiscated 30,000 of contaminated bottles of alcohol, and warned residents Friday to avoid drinking brands including Guaro Montano, Guaro Gran Apache, Star Welsh, Aguardiente Barón Rojo, Aguardiente Timbuka and Aguardiente Molotov. Vendors who sell tainted drinks could face criminal penalties.
The Ministry of Health said that its investigation is in the preliminary stages. “It is important to emphasize that this information is preliminary since the investigations continue,” an English translation of the Ministry of Health’s alert reads. “The Ministry of Health continues to carry out operations throughout the national territory in order to reduce the exposure of consumers to adulterated products.”
Methanol poisoning
Methanol is a toxic form of alcohol found in antifreeze and solvents. The symptoms of methanol poisoning include severe abdominal pain, headache, and loss of coordination. It can be a silent killer, as symptoms of poisoning usually take time to appear, New York University School of Medicine professor Dr. Devi Nampiaparampil told Fox.
“The problem with methanol is that it’s so much more dangerous than alcohol,” she said. “It can make you blind, it can damage your kidneys and you might not even realize this at first and then you can die.”
A small amount of methanol is normal in alcoholic drinks, but at higher volumes it can cause blindness and death. Nampiaparampil said that the methanol poisoning outbreak was probably the result of a manufacturing error. “Most likely this is related to some type of manufacturing error, that when they were trying to make ethanol they accidentally made some methanol,” Nampiaparampil said. “So that can happen in some counterfeit liquors.”
Donald Corella, head of emergency services at Calderon Guardia Hospital in San Jose, told Argentine daily newspaper La Nacion that four people at his hospital survived but were left totally and permanently blind or suffered with tremors from brain lesions.
Deaths in the Caribbean
According to the World Health Organization, outbreaks of methanol poisoning occur “from the consumption of adulterated counterfeit or informally-produced spirit drinks.” Outbreaks have occurred in recent years all over the world, including India, Norway, Turkey, and the Czech Republic.
Costa Rica’s president said he “deeply regrets” the deaths and instructed the authorities to collect “all possible data” to identify those responsible.
The spate of deaths in Costa Rica brings to mind a string of mysterious fatalities in the Dominican Republic this year. Some have suspected that tainted alcohol is to blame for the deaths, since several victims died after having drinks at resorts.
But the Dominican Republic has insisted that it is safe to travel there. The country has established safety measures to protect tourists.
No comments: