Methanol poisoning: A report on 4 cases in a Border State of North East India Phanjoubam M1,*, Keisham S2, Singh KP2, Adhikari U3, Angami A3 1Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal 2Assistant Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal 3Post Graduate Trainees, Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal *Corresponding Author Dr. Memchoubi Phanjoubam, Email : mem010177@gmail.com, Mobile No. : +91 9612811931
Online published on 16 November, 2023. Abstract Mass casualty which occurs after consumption of spurious liquor is usually called a 'hooch tragedy'. Methanol poisoning occurs very frequently in India and causes large number of casualties known as hooch tragedies. Though it happens in almost every part of India, the condition is being reported here as this is the first instance in a small border state in North East India without any precedence. Four people died after consuming locally brewed liquor and were autopsied in the mortuary of a tertiary health care centre in North East India. History revealed the typical symptoms of methanol poisoning and toxicological analysis confirmed the presence of methanol in the samples of blood and tissues. The cases are being reported here to serve as an eye opener for the people who have not encountered a hooch tragedy in this part of the country. Licensing of local brewery is absent in this small border state. Therefore, the quality control is almost nil which has in fact led to the present tragedy. Public health measures need to include steps to curb this menace in the bud. Legal statutes need to be strengthened regarding licensing, sale and trafficking of illicit liquor. Quality control is the need of the hour before it causes more deaths and hooch tragedies become a routine affair in this region. Good will from both the Government and the people are necessary for this. Top Keywords Local liquor, Incomplete distillation, Blindness, Death, Hooch tragedy, Methanol poisoning, Quality control. Top |