KUALA LUMPUR: The death toll from the methanol poisoning case has risen to 33 as of yesterday.
Twenty cases were recorded in Selangor, 10 in Kuala Lumpur, and three in Perak.
Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the Ministry of Health has so far received 87 reports on victims of methanol poisoning.
They include 17 Malaysians, 10 Bangladeshis, 3 Indians, 21 Myanmarese, 31 Nepalese and one Indonesian. The nationalities of four individuals are unknown.
He said there were eight cases reported in Perak, 62 in Selangor, 16 in Kuala Lumpur and one in Negeri Sembilan.
Noor Hisham said that out of all the cases recorded, one patient was discharged while 37 others were still admitted, 13 of them in critical condition.
“The ministry will continue to monitor the situation, and will take measures to deal with it,” he said.
MOH’s Public Health Division and Food Safety and Quality Division has confiscated 1,816 bottles of alcoholic drinks that violated the Food Act 1983 and Food Regulations 1985.
The ministry also urged the public with methanol poisoning symptoms within five days of alcohol intake – such as abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, headache, and vision loss – to immediately seek treatment.