Methanol in Morocco: 848 cases of poisoning and 110 deaths since 1981

A recent Moroccan scientific study revealed that Morocco recorded 848 confirmed cases of methanol poisoning between 1981 and 2024, of which 110 people died with a lethality rate of about 13 percent. The study, which was completed by researchers from the Moroccan Center for Poison Control and Pharmacovigilance in cooperation with the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy at the University of Mohammed V in Rabat, relied on the National Registry of Toxic Vigilance, and was published in the September 2026 issue of the journal Toxicologie Analytique et Clinique. Fraudulent liquor tops the cases The data showed that liquor Fraudulent alcohol was behind 45 per cent of recorded cases of intoxication, followed by diverted industrial alcohol at 42 per cent, and other methanol-containing beverages at lower rates, bringing the proportion of cases associated with hazardous alcohol sources to 87 per cent of the total. The study showed that most of the patients were men between the ages of 20 and 45 years, with cases of permanent vision loss and renal insufficiency recorded as complications. The year 2024 witnessed the highest annual total of 201 cases, after 1997 had recorded a previous peak In 88 cases, mass poisoning incidents were documented. The study monitored 11 mass poisoning hotspots during the past four decades, with mortality rates ranging between 6 and 100 percent, depending on the amount of alcohol consumed, the speed of diagnosis and the availability of treatment. Among the most prominent of these foci: The most prominent foci of mass methanol poisoning documented in the accident study Date Number of cases Deaths Loss of sight Safi October 1997 76 9 3 Eyebrow unspecified - 17 4 Sidi Allal Tazi 3-5 June 2024 114 - - In Safi, eating adulterated "vodka" caused the registration of 76 confirmed cases, including 9 deaths and 3 cases of blindness. In Al-Hajib, one of the foci resulted in 17 deaths and 4 cases of vision loss, after laboratory tests confirmed a high concentration of methanol. In Sidi Allal Tazi, between 3 and 5 June 2024, authorities confirmed 114 laboratory-confirmed cases of methanol poisoning. The recommendations of the researchers called on the authors of the study to tighten control over the production and circulation of industrial and artisanal alcohol, and to launch awareness campaigns targeting the most vulnerable groups, in addition to forming rapid response teams Within hospitals, ensuring the availability of antidotes and means of blood purification, and adopting standardized treatment protocols to deal with cases of methanol poisoning.