Overview

• Brazil’s Health Ministry counted 195 notifications linked to adulterated alcohol, with 14 laboratory‑confirmed cases and 181 under investigation as of 4 p.m. on Oct. 4.
• São Paulo reports 162 notifications, including all 14 confirmed cases and two deaths in the capital, with seven additional fatalities under analysis.
• São Paulo’s Civil Police made 41 arrests and interdicted 11 establishments in operations targeting beverage adulteration, seizing large quantities of suspect bottles and labels.
• The Health Ministry began distributing pharmaceutical ethanol to five states (PE 240, PR 100, BA 90, DF 90, MS 60) and is procuring 2,500 fomepizol treatments plus 12,000 more ethanol ampoules, with Lacen‑DF, the São Paulo municipal lab and INCQS/Fiocruz mobilized for rapid testing.
• Initial suspected cases were reported in Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro and Piauí, and officials advise avoiding distilled drinks of uncertain origin—especially screw‑cap bottles—as investigators examine clandestine operations that may have used methanol to clean bottles.