Coronavirus: 700 dead in Iran after drinking toxic methanol alcohol to ‘cure Covid-19’
‘We are fighting on two fronts here,’ says health ministry adviser – as false rumours spread of curative and poisoning skyrockets
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.More than 700 people in Iran have died after ingesting toxic methanol because false rumours it helps cure the coronavirus, officials have said.
In a desperate search for a curative, many families have turned to fake remedies spread across social media – including a powerful form of bootleg alcohol banned in the Islamic Republic.
Iranian health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said that 525 people have died in hospital from swallowing toxic methanol alcohol since 20 February, state TV reported on Monday.
An adviser to the ministry, Hossein Hassanian, told the Associated Press another 200 or so alcohol poisoning victims died outside of hospital.
Alcohol poisoning has skyrocketed in Iran amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a government report released earlier in April.
The national coroner’s authority said that alcohol poisoning killed 728 Iranians between 20 February and 7 April. Last year there were only 66 deaths from alcohol poisoning, according to the report.
The health ministry spokesman said that a total of 5,011 people across Iran had been poisoned from methanol alcohol since mid-February.
Mr Jahanpour added that 90 people have lost their eye sight or are suffering eye damage from the alcohol poisoning. Dr Hassanian also said the final tally of people who lost their eye sight could be much higher.
“We are fighting on two fronts here,” the ministry adviser said last month. “We have to both cure the people with alcohol poisoning and also fight the coronavirus.”
Iran is facing the worst coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East. The death toll in Iran from the coronavirus pandemic rose by 71 in the past 24 hours to 5,877, health ministry spokesman said on state TV on Tuesday.
The consumption of alcohol is generally prohibited in Iran. However, minority Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians are allowed to drink alcoholic beverages in private. Iran also currently some 40 alcohol factories that have been allocated permits for pharmaceutical and sanitising items.
The Iranian government mandates that manufacturers of toxic methanol add an artificial colour to their products so the public can tell it apart from ethanol, the kind of alcohol that can be used in cleaning wounds.
Some bootleggers in Iran use methanol, adding a splash of bleach to mask the added colour before selling it as drinkable. Methanol, which cannot be smelled in drinks, causes delayed organ and brain damage. Symptoms include chest pain, nausea, hyperventilation, blindness and even coma.
Public health authorities around the world have struggled to combat a variety of false and dangerous information about the coronavirus and potential “cures” spread online since the beginning of the outbreak.
Arguably some leaders have contributed to the misinformation. US president Donald Trump speculated on whether patients could be injected with disinfectant, while Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko erroneously advised that drinking vodka would help “poison” the disease.
Additional reporting by agencies
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments