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View all search resultsIndonesia has world's largest methanol poisoning cases, 30% fatal
A webinar on methanol poisoning involving experts from the WHO and other health professionals last week has pointed to an urgency for emergency planning to reduce illness and related risks in Indonesia, including ensuring the availability of antidotes.
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Officers watch as a suspected bootlegger (squatting) demonstrates how to produce ‘oplosan’ (moonshine) on Feb. 10, 2016, at a police station in Sleman regency, Yogyakarta. (Antara/Andreas Fitri Atmoko)
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ndonesia has reported the highest number of methanol poisoning cases globally, prompting calls for stronger emergency preparedness plans to mitigate the risks of methanol exposure.
Over the past two decades, Indonesia and 12 other countries and areas in the Western Pacific as defined by the World Health Organization have reported outbreaks of mass methanol poisoning.
The region covers a total of 38 states and territories across Asia and the Pacific, according to the United Nations health agency.
Although the number of incidents and fatalities in the region has been on a decline since peaking in 2018, a robust emergency response plan is deemed critical because methanol poisoning is a preventable cause of severe illness and death.
Since 2015, the Western Pacific region has recorded 352 methanol poisoning events that affected 5,167 people and resulted in 1,571 deaths, representing a mortality rate of 30.4 percent.
Indonesia topped the methanol poisoning list with more than 300 reported incidents, resulting in 2,185 people affected and a mortality rate of 50.4 percent, which is very high. Cambodia ranked second, with 1,341 people affected and a mortality rate of 14.2 percent.
Seungyun Kim, technical officer for information and risk assessment with the WHO Health Emergencies Programme (WHE) in the Western Pacific, said Indonesia had the highest methanol poisoning figure in the region as well as globally, largely because it was a Muslim-majority country where alcohol consumption was strictly prohibited.
