Methanol Poisoning: Ondo Concoction Death Toll Rises to 48, Five Blind — NAFDAC

…….182 affected, 15 arrested as agency detects high methanol in suspected products

The death toll from the consumption of suspected locally produced alcoholic and herbal concoctions in Ondo State has risen to 48, with 182 people affected, including five victims who have reportedly become totally blind, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has disclosed.

The agency also confirmed the arrest of 15 suspects over the production, sale, and distribution of the implicated concoctions as investigations intensify into the outbreak in parts of the state.

According to NAFDAC, laboratory analysis of samples collected from the suspected products detected high concentrations of methanol, a highly toxic substance capable of causing severe poisoning, blindness, organ failure and death.

The agency, in an update issued on Friday by its Director-General, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, said five victims had suffered total blindness while two others sustained partial loss of vision after consuming the concoctions reportedly sold and distributed in communities in Odigbo Local Government Area and other locations.

The latest figure represents a significant rise from the initial 31 deaths recorded when the incident was first reported in early September.

NAFDAC said that of the 182 cases recorded so far, 90 victims had been discharged after receiving hospital treatment, while six remained hospitalised and 31 others were being managed as outpatients.

The affected communities include New Town, Odole, Okele, Orita Odigbo, Odigbo town, Araromi-Obu, and Oniparaga, with additional cases reported in Irele Local Government Area.

Adeyeye said victims presented symptoms including severe headache, general weakness, body pains, visual impairment, breathing difficulties, and altered consciousness, with some cases deteriorating rapidly.

As part of its investigation, NAFDAC said 15 unlabeled samples of the suspected alcoholic and herbal concoctions were subjected to toxicological, microbiological, and chemical analyses.

The agency said acute oral toxicity tests conducted on laboratory mice produced alarming results, with critically ill animals recorded and approximately 50 per cent mortality observed in six of the 15 samples tested.

Further chemical screening, according to NAFDAC, indicated the presence of cannabis in 11 samples, while gas chromatography confirmed high concentrations of methanol.

Adeyeye explained that methanol poisoning could result in severe illness, blindness, organ failure, and death, describing the laboratory findings as a major public health concern.

She said the combination of the high mortality recorded during the toxicity tests and the confirmed methanol contamination strongly indicated that the suspected products posed a serious risk to human health.

However, NAFDAC said further confirmatory tests were still being conducted to quantify the methanol concentrations and establish whether other toxic substances were present in the products.

Meanwhile, the agency said 15 persons had been arrested in connection with the suspected production, sale, and distribution of the concoctions, as investigators work to establish the source and distribution network of the products.

Adeyeye said surveillance, case management, investigation, and risk-control measures were ongoing across the affected communities.

She cautioned that the figures could change as surveillance and verification activities continued.

The NAFDAC boss commiserated with families who lost loved ones in the incident, assuring that the agency and other relevant authorities were intensifying efforts to prevent further exposure and loss of lives.