Amid the growing cases related to methanol poisoning in alcohol, several measures were adopted by public authorities to face the situation. In all, the country has already registered 59 cases of intoxication, 11 being confirmed in laboratory and 48 in investigation.
In addition to inspections carried out in bars and distributors to identify possible irregularities, state and federal agencies mobilized a series of emergency actions.
See below:
Situation room
O Ministry of Health installed a “situation room”, last Wednesday (1)with the purpose of monitor cases of methanol poisoning resulting from the consumption of alcohol and coordinate measures that need to be adopted in response to this crisis.
The installation of the situation room was motivated by the significant increase in cases. Health Minister Alexandre Padilha stressed that the situation is “abnormal and unlike anything in our historical series”.
The situation room is defined as a space . The central objective of this analysis is Characterize the health situation of the population that was intoxicated by methanol.
As part of their duties, the technical team will:
- Plan the measures to be adopted;
- Organize the necessary actions;
- Coordinate the answer;
- Check the measures during this public health event.
According to the ministry, the measure has a extraordinary and will permanent active while sanitary risks persist and the need for monitoring and national response to methanol poisoning after alcohol consumption.
Channel for complaints
Procon-SP launched, also last Wednesday (1), . The measure is part of Governor Tarcísio de Freitas’s determination and is part of the São Paulo government task force after cases of contamination and confirmed deaths in the capital and metropolitan region of São Paulo.
Consumers who identify suspicious products in markets or bars can access the site do Procon-SP and formalize the complaint. The system allows the registration to be done anonymously.
Activation of international authorities
Given the scenario, Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) for Brazil. To enable the availability of the drug, known as Hunger, the Surveillance Agency has formally consulted the authorities about authorization to market the product.
According to the agency, the drug does not have a sanitary record in the country, a factor that leads to the search for suppliers in other countries to meet the demand of SUS (Unified Health System).
In order to accelerate the importation of the product, Anvisa also published a notice to identify international manufacturers and distributors with immediate availability to provide the drug to the Ministry of Health.
Laboratories for ethanol preparation
Amid the attempt to bring the drug to Brazil, the surveillance agency identified, on emergency, More than 600 handling pharmacies with the capacity to prepare ethanol in the degree of purity for medical use. According to Anvisa, the product can be considered a therapeutic alternative to the hunger, if necessary.
During a news conference on Thursday (3), Padilha pointed out that the government’s technical note reaffirms the pharmaceutical ethanol as Effective antidote for treatmentprovided that they are prescribed and accompanied by doctors. He explained that OE is expanding distribution so that it is available to any state or health unit you need.
Closure of commercial establishments
The governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas, asked the Secretariat of Finance And he defended the closure internally as a pedagogical measure for the others to know that, if the product is found in their drinks, they will also be closed.
The process It has already been opened by the Secretariat of Financewhich analyzes the cases. Part of them already had the state registration suspended.
In practice, the idea is to revoke the State Registration (IE) that is attributed to São Paulo taxpayers of ICMS and allows the establishment to issue invoices. The state registration is made in the ICMS Taxpayers Register of the State of São Paulo (CADESP) and is mandatory for the entire commercial point. Without registration, it cannot act.
Associations promoting training
ABRASEL (Brazilian Association of Bars and Restaurants), ABBD (Brazilian Association of Distilled Beverages) and Abrabe (Brazilian Beverage Association), in a joint initiative, are promoting a , with practical guidelines for entrepreneurs to identify Signs of tampering in alcoholic beverages.
The training had early last Wednesday (1st) and were taught by Daniel Monferrari, head protection of brands and corporate security of the company Diageo. The course had the participation of more than two thousand people.
According to Daniel, 100% of the counterfeit drinks identified in police operations were pulled in original bottles reused.
Distribution of antidote ampoules
The São Paulo Secretariat of Health began to make available, starting this Friday (3),. With the reinforcement, the total stock in the state’s reference services reaches 2,500 units.
Eleuses Paiva, secretary of Health, stressed that the first hours after the ingestion of contaminated alcohol are crucial to ensure life.
O antidote It is available at the State Reference Centers: Hospital das Clínicas de Campinas, Ribeirão Preto and São Paulo. For ampoules, health services must send a copy of the case notification form to the reference centers.
The state also reinforced the laboratory structure to confirm the presence of Methanol No Organism. Blood or urine samples will be analyzed within one hour by the Latof (Forensic Analytical Toxicology Laboratory) of USP Ribeirão Preto, using gas chromatography.
Recommendations
The MJSP (Ministry of Justice and Public Security) issued a urgent recommendation to establishments that sell alcohol in the state of São Paulo and in nearby regions. The MJSP document is directed to bars, restaurants, nightclubs, hotels, event organizers, markets, attacks, distributors, e -commerce platforms and delivery applications.
In a note, the ministry recommended attention to items with crooked seals, obvious printing errors and atypically low prices. The text also warns that they must be treated as suspected tampering Symptoms such as cloudy vision, headache and nausea.
See list of which to reduce the risk of buying tampered drinks:
- Look for well -known establishments or reference;
- Be wary of very low prices – at least they may indicate some failure such as evasion and tampering, for example;
- Observe the presentation of the packaging and the appearance of the product;
- Noting some difference, do not do home tests like smelling, proving or trying to burn the drink;
- Communicate the competent authorities;
- Always require the invoice or proof of origin: Document must have all supplier and purchase identification information, this helps in the screening of the product.
