Methanol-laced brew kills 40
01/03/2007 22:33  - (SA)  

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Kampala - At least 40 people have died in the past two weeks after drinking moonshine laced with methanol in Uganda, said a police spokesperson on Thursday.

Tests are underway to determine the poison that killed at least 15 people on Wednesday alone, said Edward Ochom.

Press reports indicated that most had died after drinking a brew called "waragi" in the suburbs of Kampala. Others died after drinking the same brew in an eastern district of the country, said reports.

The drink costs about 100 Ugandan shillings (six US cents).

"Our diagnosis is that all these people took waragi, which had a lot of methanol. When you take alcohol with a lot of methanol, you can lose your sight, your liver will be affected and you can die," health ministry official Ambrose Kyarisuna told The New Vision newspaper.

Dozens of Ugandans have died and several have been blinded by the concoction in recent years.

Officials say unscrupulous brewers usually lace their drinks with methanol, a toxic chemical used in industry as a solvent or antifreeze, to make them more potent.

- SAPA

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