Nigeria’s food and drug regulator said on Friday that 48 people have died after consuming a locally prepared alcoholic and herbal concoction in Ondo State, in an outbreak the agency has linked to high concentrations of methanol.
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) said in a statement signed by Director-General Mojisola Adeyeye that 182 cases had been recorded as of September 17, with 90 people admitted to hospital and later discharged, 31 treated as outpatients and six still hospitalized. Five victims have been left totally blind and two partially blind, the agency said.
The outbreak has centered on communities in Odigbo Local Government Area, including New Town, Odole, Okele, Orita Odigbo, Araromi-Obu and Oniparaga, with the highest case numbers reported in Odigbo Town and Araromi-Obu. NAFDAC said the incident was first reported in early September and has since spread into parts of neighboring Ile-Oluji and Irele local government areas.
Laboratory testing of 15 unlabeled samples found that 11 tested positive for cannabis indica, while gas chromatography confirmed high concentrations of methanol, a substance NAFDAC said can cause blindness, organ failure and death. Acute oral toxicity testing recorded roughly 50% mortality among laboratory mice exposed to six of the samples, the agency said. Confirmatory analysis to determine exact methanol concentrations and identify any other toxic agents is continuing.
NAFDAC said 15 people have been arrested in connection with the suspected production, sale and distribution of the implicated drinks, and that surveillance, case management and risk-control measures remain active in the affected communities in coordination with public health authorities. The agency urged Nigerians to avoid unlicensed, unregistered or locally prepared alcoholic beverages.
