Some states that have had deaths and cases from drinks contaminated by methanol will be on alert this Carnival for adulterated drinks. According to the Ministry of Health, in 2025, Brazil confirmed 76 cases of methanol poisoning associated with the consumption of alcoholic beverages.
Another 29 incidents are still under investigation. In the same period, there were 25 confirmed deaths, in addition to eight under investigation. This year, as of February 3, seven cases have been confirmed and 13 are being investigated.
São Paulo was the hardest hit state. The State Department of Health (SES-SP) updated, this Wednesday (11), the balance of occurrences related to methanol poisoning. In total, 52 cases were confirmed, with 12 deaths (four men aged 26, 45, 48 and 54 years old, residents of the city of São Paulo; a 30-year-old woman and a 62-year-old man, from São Bernardo do Campo; two men aged 23 and 25 years old and a 27-year-old woman, from Osasco; a 37-year-old man, from Jundiaí; a 26-year-old man, from Sorocaba; and a 26-year-old man, from Mauá).
Currently, four deaths remain under investigation: one in Guariba, of a 39-year-old patient, one in São José dos Campos (31 years old) and two in Cajamar (29 and 38 years old).
The State Department of Health alerts the population to the risks of drinking adulterated alcoholic beverages and reinforces the importance of taking care during Carnival. The recommendation is to only purchase products from regulated establishments, check the origin of the drinks and avoid consuming items of unknown origin.
The Health Surveillance Center (CVS) of the state of São Paulo is coordinating actions with the Municipal Health Surveillance, responsible for inspecting establishments and street vendors that offer food and alcoholic beverages, including verifying the origin and origin of the products.
Recommendation
CVS recommends that bars, companies and other establishments pay extra attention to the origin of products and that the population only purchase drinks from legal manufacturers, with a label, security seal and tax seal, avoiding options of dubious origin and preventing cases of poisoning that can put lives at risk.
Inspection analyzes drinks sold in various establishments. Photo: Government of SP
Pernambuco
The State Department of Health of Pernambuco (SES-PE) reported that eight cases of methanol poisoning were confirmed in the state, including five deaths in October and November 2025. It also warns that distilled beverages of dubious origin may contain methanol or other substances unsuitable for consumption. Methanol is a type of alcohol that is extremely toxic to humans and can cause irreversible blindness, kidney failure and even death. “Be wary of drinks priced well below the market. Do not drink ready-made mixes sold in PET bottles or unsuitable containers. Buy from establishments licensed by the health surveillance department or sellers accredited by the city hall. Sealed cans are safer”, says the secretariat.
The Pernambuco Health Surveillance Agency (Apevisa) hopes to exceed the number of five hundred health inspections. Among the actions are inspections of bars, cabins, restaurants and places where there are large concentrations of people, as well as inspections of street vendors ensuring the correct storage and sale of food and drinks.
Bahia
Nine cases of methanol poisoning were confirmed in Bahia. Three died, one resident in Ribeira do Pombal, one in Cansanção and another in Juazeiro.
The Department of Health (Sesab), in partnership with the Ministry of Health, reported that it has reinforced stocks of the antidote to treat methanol poisoning if necessary. He added that he has encouraged municipalities to strengthen supervision of the sale and distribution of distilled beverages.
Paraná
Paraná reported that it closed the Situation Room on methanol poisoning on November 24, 2025. The state had six cases confirmed, three of which resulted in deaths.
Mato Grosso
The Mato Grosso State Department of Health (SES-MT) said it intensified surveillance and inspection actions, even without any new confirmed cases being recorded for more than 30 days. The state recorded six confirmed incidents. There were four deaths between November and December 2025.
The secretariat recommends caution to revelers, who should only consume drinks from regular establishments and avoid products of dubious origin or without an adequate label. If you experience symptoms such as blurred vision, severe abdominal pain, dizziness or mental confusion after drinking alcoholic beverages, you should immediately seek medical attention.
Mobile laboratory in Rio
The state of Rio de Janeiro recorded no cases or deaths due to methanol in beverages. Even so, the State Secretariat for Consumer Protection and Procon are on the streets with the Itinerant Consumer Laboratory, which circulates around the blocks and at the Sambadrome.
With a high-tech portable laboratory, the equipment is capable of testing, in real time, drinks with signs of falsification. The device brings together the original formulas of the main distillates on the market and compares them with samples collected during inspections.
Last weekend, in actions on Saturday (7) and Sunday (8), in blocks in the south zone and the city center, around 26 liters of counterfeit drinks were seized and tested, showing the risk that this type of product poses to consumer health.
“The sale of counterfeit drinks is a criminal practice that puts lives at risk. Our action is firm to remove these products from circulation and alert the population about the dangers of this consumption”, said the Secretary of State for Consumer Protection, Gutemberg Fonseca.
Warning signs and symptoms
– Initial (up to 6 hours after ingestion): severe abdominal pain, drowsiness, lack of coordination, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, headache, mental confusion, tachycardia and low blood pressure;
– Between 6h and 24h: blurred vision, photophobia, blurred vision, dilated pupils, loss of color vision, convulsions, coma and severe metabolic acidosis.
– In more serious cases, the patient may progress to irreversible blindness, shock, pancreatitis, kidney failure, basal ganglia necrosis with tremor, rigidity and slow movement.
Danger
Clinical pathologist Hélio Magarinos Torres Filho, medical director of Richet Medicina e Diagnóstico, explains that, unlike common alcohol (ethanol), methanol is an alcohol that, when metabolized by the body, generates highly toxic substances that interfere, above all, with the energy production of cells and especially affect the nervous system.
According to the doctor, the result can be severe metabolic acidosis (increased acidity in the blood) which leads to complications such as visual changes (blurred or blurred vision), damage to the optic nerve, confusion and mental disorientation, convulsions, decreased level of consciousness (coma), arrhythmias and respiratory failure which can lead to death.
The danger increases because, according to the pathologist, methanol poisoning does not always give clear immediate signs and can be confused with a stronger hangover.
“Symptoms usually appear progressively, generally between six and 24 hours after ingesting the drink, and may, in some cases, appear up to 48 hours later”, he explains.
One of the main differences in relation to common alcohol poisoning, according to the doctor, encompasses the intensity and evolution of the condition, which is often incompatible with the amount of drink ingested.
“Visual changes are the most characteristic and should not be ignored, even when discreet. When arriving at the emergency department, it is important to report suspected ingestion of a drink of dubious origin and, if possible, take the packaging or a sample of what was consumed”, warns Magarinos.
According to the pathologist, there are tests that confirm intoxication, such as measuring methanol in the blood or urine, but the test is not always available immediately.
Therefore, the Ministry of Health advises that people do not wait for confirmation to start treatment.
“As a preventive measure, the recommendation to revelers is to only consume drinks of known origin, avoid products without labels or products sold in suspicious conditions and seek medical attention if there are any unusual signs after consuming alcohol”, concludes Magarinos.
