Overview

• Brazil’s Health Ministry reports 32 confirmed cases linked to adulterated distilled drinks, with 181 additional notifications under investigation and five deaths confirmed in São Paulo.
• São Paulo now counts 28 confirmed cases and 100 under investigation; police report 30 arrests and large seizures including 121,000 empty bottles, 480,000 seals and 21,400 suspect-filled bottles.
• Pernambuco confirmed its first three cases tied to the same beverage source, including two deaths and one survivor with vision loss, as forensic tests found methanol about 300 times the legal limit.
• Paraná recorded a fourth confirmed case in Curitiba and remains in treatment with the federally supplied antidote, while Rio de Janeiro tracks five suspected cases with no confirmations.
• The federal government began distributing 2,500 units of fomepizole and pharmaceutical ethanol to states, and clinicians detailed an emergency protocol in which high‑proof vodka was used under medical supervision when specific antidotes were initially unavailable, as investigators probe a possible fuel‑supply source of contamination.