Canada has updated its travel advisory for Nigeria, cautioning its citizens to avoid unregulated and locally brewed alcoholic drinks over fears of methanol poisoning.
The warning was added to the safety and security section of the country’s official Travel Advice and Advisories for Nigeria on September 21, following a wave of deaths linked to adulterated alcohol.
In the advisory, the Canadian government noted that casualties have been recorded from the consumption of unregulated and adulterated alcohol containing high levels of methanol, a highly toxic industrial alcohol.
It urged travellers to purchase alcoholic drinks only from reputable outlets and to seek urgent medical help if they feel unwell after drinking.
The alert follows the recent outbreak in Ondo State, where the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control said 48 people died and 182 others fell ill after consuming suspected locally made herbal concoctions.
NAFDAC said laboratory tests on 15 unlabelled samples confirmed high methanol concentrations, with 11 also testing positive for Cannabis indica. The agency noted that five victims went totally blind and two partially blind.
The regulator said the cases were concentrated in Odigbo Local Government Area, with other reports from Irele LGA, while 15 suspects have been arrested in connection with the production and sale of the drinks.
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