Coronavirus and the increase in deaths from methanol
Counterfeit and homemade alcohol continues to claim the lives of citizens. In the most recent example, 20 people in Tabriz and Ahar and 6 people in Torbat Jam have died from alcohol poisoning. Methanol consumption has increased in parallel with the spread of the coronavirus.
The deputy director of medical services at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences has announced that 230 people have been poisoned by drinking methanol from March 1 to April 2, 20 of whom have died. Roozbeh Rajaee announced that most of the poisoned people are young people under 45 years old and from Tabriz and Ahar, and among them are female patients. She added that the number of visits to hospitals in East Azerbaijan with alcohol poisoning continues and is not decreasing.
The dean of the Torbat Jam Faculty of Medical Sciences also announced the deaths of six people and the hospitalization of 16 others due to alcohol poisoning in hospitals, and called on people not to pay attention to non-medical prescriptions in cyberspace.
With the spread of the coronavirus in Iran, some people have turned to alcohol to protect themselves from infection and internal disinfection of the body, and even gargle with ethyl alcohol solution. Meanwhile, a group has also drunk methyl alcohol or methanol, which is very toxic and dangerous, instead of ethyl alcohol, which has no effect on fighting the virus.
Counterfeit liquor and industrial alcohol have claimed dozens of lives in many cities and counties. According to Ali Ehsanpour, spokesman for Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences, 673 people have been admitted to the province's medical centers in the second half of March due to consuming toxic liquor, 63 of whom have died. The number of victims has been announced as two in Yazd, 19 in Ardabil, 7 in Isfahan, 12 in Mazandaran, 7 in Gilan, and 23 in Tehran.
At least 25 people in Alborz and at least 31 people in Fars have lost their lives after consuming counterfeit alcohol.
A 70% solution of ethanol or methyl alcohol is used for disinfection and external use. Methanol or industrial alcohol is a deadly substance that is used in the paint industry, the production of adhesives, antifreeze or various chemical products, and even its external use must be with gloves and a mask.
Ingestion of methanol or wood alcohol can cause dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath, abdominal pain, blurred vision, and blindness. Within 24 hours of consuming the counterfeit alcohol and the breakdown of methanol in the liver, the patient will experience seizures and a heart attack. Anyone who survives such poisoning will face kidney, liver, and vision problems for the rest of their lives.
The deputy director of medical treatment at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences has reminded that the place where the coronavirus grows and develops is the respiratory tract, not the digestive system: "Drinking alcohol, whether non-edible, industrial, or alcoholic, has no effect on eliminating or preventing coronavirus."
Source: DW
