Costa Rica has issued a national alert over counterfeit alcohol tainted with methanol that's being cited as the cause of 19 deaths, CBS reports. The Ministry of Health released an official statement warning against a number of brands, with many of them testing positive for methanol adulteration.
Fourteen men and five women ranging from ages 32 to 72 have died due to methanol poisioning since June, and as a result, the government has confiscated around 30,000 bottles of the brands suspected to tainted.
Methanol is a chemical frequently used in anti-freeze and windshield wiper fluid, however tainted liquor sometimes utilizes it to make the product cheaper to produce. A small amount of methanol can be lethal to humans, SafeProof reports. Earlier this year, a similiar situation happened in India when 154 people died and hundreds more were hopitalized after they consumed toxic moonshine.
Methanol poisoning symptons include headaches, dizziness, blindness and death. The Costa Rica deaths were linked to the tainted alcohol in the San Jose province. Among the brand names to be confiscated include Guaro Montano, Guaro Gran Apache, Aguardiente Estrella, Aguardiente Barón Rojo, Aguardiente Timbuka, and Molotov Aguardiente.
A series of U.S. tourist deaths in the Dominican Republic may have also been linked to counterfeit alcohol. The country's Ministry of Tourism said that it has begun conducting semi-annual food and beverage investigations at numerous resorts and hotels, according to Newsweek.
