Over 500 People Dead in Iran After Drinking Disinfectant Alcohol Following COVID-19 Spread

[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Kim] It has been revealed that over 500 people in Iran have died due to the misuse of disinfectant alcohol.

Kianoush Jahanpour, spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Health, urged caution on the 27th (local time), stating that cases of harm caused by the misuse of disinfectant alcohol, which has become easily accessible due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), are frequent.

At a briefing that day, spokesperson Jahanpour said, "Since February 20, over a two-month period, 5,011 people nationwide have been poisoned by drinking disinfectant alcohol, of whom 525 have died. Additionally, 95 have gone blind, and 405 are receiving kidney dialysis treatment."

In Iran, alcohol cannot be sold or consumed according to Islamic law, but recently, as disinfectant alcohol became available on the market due to the spread of COVID-19, it has been reported that people have frequently diluted it with water and consumed it like alcohol.

Some unscrupulous distributors and sellers remove the orange dye used to distinguish industrial alcohol (methanol) and make it transparent to deceive consumers into thinking it is ethanol, leading to accidents caused by drinking it.

Local media also reported that some people have been poisoned or died after drinking alcohol, believing it disinfects the virus inside the body.

The Iranian Ministry of Health announced that as of noon that day, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases was 91,472, an increase of 991 from the previous day. The death toll rose by 96 to reach 5,806.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.