Comment JOHANNESBURG — Methanol has been found in the blood of 21 teenagers who died last month at a bar in the South African city of East London, a health official said. Methanol – often called wood alcohol – is a toxic chemical and if ingested even in small amounts can be fatal. Here’s a look at what’s known. WHAT HAPPENED IN SOUTH AFRICA? The teenagers died at the Enyobeni Tavern in Scenery Park, East London, in the early hours of June 26, shocking the country and prompting several investigations by police and liquor licensing authorities. Many of the teenagers, between the ages of 13 and 17, were found dead in the tavern, their bodies piled on tables and couches and sprawled on the dance floor, officials said. Final toxicology reports will show whether the methanol levels were fatal and South African police will determine whether anyone will face criminal charges in the 21 deaths, national police minister Becky Sele said. WHY IS METHANOL SO POISONOUS? Methanol is a colorless liquid used industrially in antifreeze and paint remover. It is toxic to humans. Public health expert Professor Sue Goldstein, from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, warned that ingesting even small amounts of methanol could be fatal. Methanol is sometimes used to make illegal alcohol, he said. “What’s used in regular booze is ethanol. There is a slight difference in the name, but the difference is huge in that methanol is a poison. “These are early stages, but we don’t know if maybe there was homemade alcohol there and the levels of methanol that were found in the people who died,” Goldstein said. Methanol can cause blindness and can cause brain and organ damage. Consuming even small amounts can lead to death, experts say. The toxic effects of methanol are often delayed, so if poisoning is detected early, an antidote can be given to reduce deaths. IS METHANOL LEFT FOR MORE DEATHS? Yes. Because methanol is cheap, it has been used to make illegal alcoholic beverages, sometimes called moonshine. Other incidents of suspected methanol poisoning in South Africa were in May and June 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown when liquor sales were banned. Police said a man died in the small town of Brakpan, far east of Johannesburg, from organ failure caused by homemade liquor bought from an illegal dealer. Seven people have died in the Western Cape province after consuming homemade alcohol laced with methanol, police said. WHAT ABOUT OTHER COUNTRIES? Cases of methanol poisoning have occurred around the world. Although drinking methanol can easily be fatal, it accounts for less than 1% of all alcohol-related deaths, according to the World Health Organization. The medical charity, Doctors Without Borders, established a dedicated Methanol Poisoning Initiative in 2012, to help create effective responses to cases of methanol poisoning and make an effective antidote more widely available. ARE THERE OTHER INCIDENTS IN WHICH METHANOL HAS CAUSED MULTIPLE DEATHS? In Iran in March 2020, methanol was included in an illegal treatment for COVID-19, resulting in the death of nearly 300 people, according to official reports. An Iranian doctor assisting the country’s Health Ministry told The Associated Press at the time that the problem was even bigger, putting the death toll at about 480 with 2,850 people sickened. Fake cures spread on social media in Iran, where people were deeply suspicious of the government after it downplayed the COVID-19 crisis before the disease swept the country. In the United States, four people died in Arizona and New Mexico in August 2020 after drinking hand sanitizer containing methanol. The US Food and Drug Administration had earlier issued a warning about a Mexican-made hand sanitizer gel that was dangerous because it had high amounts of methanol. The FDA said methanol “may be toxic when absorbed through the skin or swallowed.” In northern India, 79 people died from drinking alcohol in three separate incidents in February 2019. Autopsies found that the drink contained methanol. In the Russian city of Irkutsk, at least 49 people died after drinking a fake bath lotion containing methanol in December 2016. Officials found the lotion contained lethal levels of methanol and antifreeze. Police found an underground facility making the fake lotion and seized 500 liters (132 gallons) of it from about 100 shops in Irkutsk, according to the Tass news agency. Poisonings caused by cheap substitute alcohol are common in Russia, but the Irkutsk case was much bigger, authorities said at the time.
