Brazil Closes Methanol Poisoning Crisis Cell After Cases Decline

Overview

• The Health Ministry published a portaria on Dec. 8 formally ending the emergency Sala de Situação created in October for the methanol outbreak.
• Officials report 73 confirmed intoxications and 22 deaths between late September and early December, most in São Paulo, with the last case recorded on Nov. 26 after symptoms began Nov. 23.
• Surveillance shifts to routine tracking in Sinan after 890 notifications were logged, of which 788 were discarded following laboratory analysis and 29 remain under review.
• States received 1,500 ampoules of fomepizol and 4,806 units of medicinal ethanol, and a strategic reserve of 2,600 ampoules was established to bolster clinical readiness.
• Federal actions remain active, including the Federal Police’s Operação Alquimia and Receita Federal’s Operação Fronteira, as well as Agriculture-led seizures that closed 22 sites and confiscated about 793,000 liters of irregular products plus 215,000 liters of illicit beverages.