Methanol poisoning ruled out in case of 60-year-old

Preliminary tests, conducted on blood samples in Prague, have ruled out methanol poisoning in the case of a 60-year-old Czech man admitted to hospital in Cheb on Saturday morning. Poisoning was suspected after the patient collapsed in the emergency room, his nose bleeding; doctors were later informed the man had drunk around half a litre of spirits, vodka and plum brandy, the evening before. The patient, once stabilised, was transferred to a hospital in Sokolov. Some 80 people in the Czech Republic suffered methanol poisoning since September 14th after drinking laced bootleg liquor; almost 30 of them died. The outbreak forced the government to declare temporary partial prohibition and tough new measures.

Author: Jan Velinger