The Costa Rica Ministry of Health has confirmed that 19 people have died from alcohol tainted with methanol. So far, they’ve counted 14 men and five women who’ve passed from the poisoning since the beginning of June after drinking contaminated liquor. The victims were between the ages of 32 and 72 years old.
This comes after an investigation into the deaths of seven people in the Dominican Republic in June, which officials suspected were the result of tainted alcohol, or “bootleg booze.”
The Costa Rican government’s health ministry is investigating, and said they’ve confiscated 30,000 bottles of alcohol, which they believe might be the culprit.
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When too much methanol is in alcohol, it can cause serious symptoms. The Centers for Disease Control says that delayed effects can include long-term blindness, difficulty in muscle function, and damage to the brain. Ultimately, if you ingest too much, it can lead to kidney failure, low blood pressure, and death. The World Health Organization has warned that methanol outbreaks have been somewhat common in recent years in places such as Cambodia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Indonesia, Kenya, and India.
"Some illicitly-produced drinks are made to appear legitimate through bottle design and labelling and consumers can be misled into believing they are buying a genuine brand of alcohol," a press release from WHO says. "Bottles may be sold in shops, markets and bars, often at a ‘bargain’ price."
The Costa Rican Health Ministry notes that the amount of methanol it would take to kill a person varies, but notes that a dose of .2 milliliters of 100% methanol per kilogram of a person’s weight would likely be toxic. According to WHO, humans can safely consume a tiny amount of methanol (there are trace amounts in fruit juices, for example), but it can be really harmful at a certain point. That’s why if you have any kind of suspicion you’ve consumed any, you should seek medical attention immediately.