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More than 700 people have died in Iran after ingesting toxic methanol, mistakenly thinking that it can cure the new coronavirus.
The national forensic authority said alcohol poisoning killed 728 Iranians between February 20 and April 7. Last year there were only 66 deaths from alcohol poisoning, according to the report.
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Alcohol poisoning has seen a 10-fold increase in Iran in the past year, according to a government report released in early April, amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Iranian health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour He said 5,011 people had been poisoned by methanol alcohol, adding that about 90 people lost their sight or suffered eye damage from alcohol poisoning.
Hossein Hassanian, an adviser to the health ministry, said the final number of people who lost their sight could be much higher.
Iran faces the worst coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East with 5,806 deaths and more than 91,000 confirmed cases.
Methanol cannot be smelled or tasted in beverages. It causes organ delay and brain damage. Symptoms include chest pain, nausea, hyperventilation, blindness, and even coma.
On Thursday, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, raised the possibility of injecting disinfectant into patients, causing an international uproar with mManufacturers, doctors and government agencies issue warnings against the consumption of disinfectants such as chlorine.
In Iran, the government requires toxic methanol manufacturers to add an artificial color to their products so that the public can distinguish it from ethanol, the type of alcohol that can be used to clean wounds.
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