Corona and Increased Deaths from Methanol
Counterfeit and homemade alcoholic beverages continue to claim the lives of citizens. In the latest cases, 20 people in Tabriz and Ahar and 6 people in Torbat Jam have died from alcohol poisoning. Methanol consumption has increased alongside the spread of coronavirus.
The deputy director of treatment at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences announced that 230 people have been poisoned from drinking methanol from the beginning of Esfand to the third of Farvardin, of whom 20 have died. Rozbeh Rajaei stated that most of the poisoned individuals are young people under 45 years of age from Tabriz and Ahar, and include female patients. He added that admissions with alcohol poisoning to hospitals in East Azerbaijan continue and are not decreasing.
The dean of the School of Medicine at Torbat Jam also reported the deaths of six people and the hospitalization of 16 others due to alcohol poisoning in hospitals, and asked the public not to pay attention to non-medical prescriptions circulating in cyberspace.
With the outbreak of coronavirus in Iran, some people have turned to alcohol to prevent infection and for internal disinfection, and even gargle with ethyl alcohol solution. Meanwhile, some groups have consumed methyl alcohol or methanol instead of ethyl alcohol, which has no effect in combating the virus, but is highly toxic and dangerous.
Counterfeit alcoholic beverages and industrial alcohol have left dozens of victims in many cities and towns. According to Ali Ehsan Pour, spokesperson for Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences, 673 people sought treatment in medical centers in the province due to consumption of toxic beverages in the second half of Esfand, of whom 63 have died. The number of victims in Yazd is reported as 2, Ardabil 19, Isfahan 7, Mazandaran 12, Gilan 7, and Tehran 23.
In Alborz, at least 25 people and in Fars at least 31 people have lost their lives after consuming counterfeit alcohol.
A 70 percent ethanol or methyl alcohol solution is used for disinfection and external use. Methanol or industrial alcohol is a deadly substance used in paint manufacturing, adhesive production, antifreeze, or various chemical products, and even external use of it must be accompanied by gloves and masks.
Consuming methanol or wood alcohol causes complications including dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath, abdominal pain, blurred vision, and blindness. After 24 hours of consuming counterfeit and homemade alcohol and the breakdown of methanol in the liver, the patient experiences seizures and heart attacks. Anyone who survives such poisoning will face kidney, liver, and vision problems for the rest of their life.
The deputy director of treatment at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences reminded that the site of growth and development of coronavirus is the respiratory tract, not the digestive system: “Consuming alcohol, whether non-consumable, industrial, or beverages, has no effect in eliminating and preventing coronavirus.”
Source: DW
