More Than 300 Die In Iran From Consuming Methanol: They Believed It Would Protect Them From The Coronavirus

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

The coronavirus pandemic that plagues humanity began in China, but the first country to hit hard outside the Asian continent was Iran. To this day, the Muslim nation remains the fourth country with the most COVID-19 deaths in the world - with 2,378, according to John Hopkins University - and more than 2,300 confirmed cases.

To this is now added a new tragedy: at least 300 people have died in that country and 1,000 more have become seriously ill from consuming methanol to try to fight the coronavirus, as confirmed by the IRNA news agency and France Presse.

Despite the fact that the Muslim country basically prohibits the consumption of alcoholic beverages, those affected obtained adulterated alcohol to drink it because, according to a rumor unleashed in said Islamic republic, said substance would end the dangerous virus.

One of the places that has been worst affected by this tragic event is the province of Khuzestan where there are at least 36 deaths after consuming methanol. The Alborz and Kermanshah provinces in the west of the country would follow in death toll.

Only the Jundishapur medical center in the town of Ahvaz, the capital of the Khuzestan province, has admitted more than 200 people after consuming this type of alcohol. Ali Ehsanpour, a spokesman for the medical center confirmed AFP that the cause was due to "rumors that drinking alcohol may be effective in treating the coronavirus."

Methanol or ethyl alcohol is extremely dangerous if consumed, as Dr. Juan Rivera previously explained to People en Español. "It is an alcohol that we humans are not really supposed to have in our bodies. We do not tolerate it … many organs affect us and people can die quickly," explains the renowned cardiologist.

The reports come after the impact of the statements of President Donald Trump who has praised the virtues of hydrochloroquine as a possible cure for COVID-19.

However, earlier in the week a couple of 60-year-olds in Arizona were heard to consume chloroquine phosphate to cure their coronavirus symptoms, causing the death of the man and the hospitalization of the woman. Sadly, neither of them had been diagnosed with respiratory illness.