Ogogoro Killings In Nigeria: The Disastrous Effects Of Methanol In The Local Gin

Ogogoro or local gin is a common alcoholic beverage locally consumed in most rural areas and city suburbs in Nigeria, especially in the riverine communities of the Niger Delta region. Ogogoro is usually made from palm wine, in natural drink made from oil palm trees. However, when the news recently broke out that ogogoro was killing people in some states in Nigeria, eye-brows were raised. It has now been confirmed by health authorities that the killer ogogoro is made not from palm wine but from methanol.

You can't see, smell or taste methanol, but drink a small amount and it could make you very ill or even kill you. Methanol has recently been linked to a number of deaths in Australia and overseas.
But what exactly is methanol, how is it produced, and, more importantly, how would you know if you have drunk it?

Methanol is the simplest form of alcohol. It is closely related to ethanol, the type of alcohol normally found in beer, wine and spirits – but much more toxic. The potential for its presence in drinks made from home-distilled spirits is a serious health risk.
Methanol is formed in very small amounts during fermentation, the process by which alcohol is made from plant products like grape juice or cereal grains. There are small amounts in wine and beer, but not enough to cause problems when these products are made at home, says Leigh Schmidtke, a senior lecturer in wine microbiology and production at Charles Sturt University. But home distillation to make spirits like gin or rum concentrates the levels of both ethanol and methanol.
Commercially-made spirits are very safe because manufacturers use technologies specifically designed to ensure methanol is separated from the ethanol. But home brew systems are typically not so technically advanced, which makes separation more difficult.
"There are no really safe ways of differentiating methanol from ethanol at home," says Schmidtke.

Methanol is converted in the body into formic acid, the same toxin that is found in the venom of ants. It's the buildup of this in the blood that causes the devastating problems, says Professor Paul Haber, the head of Drug and Alcohol Services at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney.
These include:

• kidney failure
• problems with your heart and circulation,
• liver damage
• visual disturbances such as blurred vision, tunnel vision, changes in colour perception, and temporary or permanent blindness.
• nerve and brain damage

"As time progresses, you lose your vision, you're losing integrity of your thinking processes, maybe other organs are affected. It is a very, very unpleasant process," says toxicologist Professor Chris Winder.

The earliest signs of methanol poisoning can be hard to distinguish from the normal effects of alcohol. You can develop mild symptoms similar to alcohol intoxication within an hour, along with nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
After 12 to 24 hours, the more significant symptoms can develop, such as headache, dizziness, vertigo and blurred vision.
"The bad thing is that it takes 12 to 24 hours, and often people have been solidly drunk and sleeping," says Gordian Fulde.
Ignorance of the issue can also lead to misdiagnosis or critical delays in diagnosis.
If eye symptoms such as blurred vision or difficulty looking a bright light develop, then "they really are in trouble," says Fulde. "That's when they really need to do something."