The Brazilian Ministry of Health will make an emergency purchase of antidotes for methanol poisoning, to be used by states and municipalities to treat victims who have consumed adulterated alcoholic beverages.
The government intends to purchase 150 thousand vials of pharmaceutical ethanol, in addition to the possibility of buying Fomepizol from producers and international agencies. The announcement was made by Health Minister Alexandre Padilha on social media.
“We have decided on the emergency purchase of 150 thousand vials of pharmaceutical ethanol to reinforce states and municipalities in the treatment of victims. [National drug authority] Anvisa has also contacted international producers and agencies in a bid to purchase fomepizol, another antidote used in poisoning,” he wrote.
On Thursday (Oct. 2), Padilha detailed efforts to combat this type of poisoning during a meeting of the situation room, created by the government to monitor and coordinate initiatives amid suspected cases and contamination.
“The Ministry of Health, in partnership with the Brazilian Hospital Services Company, has set up a strategic stockpile in federal university hospitals and [national public health care network] SUS services with 4,300 vials of pharmaceutical ethanol. In addition, an emergency purchase of 5 thousand more treatments (150 thousand vials) is underway, ensuring the replacement and distribution of the product according to the needs of states and municipalities,” the ministry stated.
Public call
Anvisa has issued a public call to identify “international suppliers of fomepizole, a drug for methanol poisoning, currently unavailable in Brazil.”
The initiative should mobilize the 10 largest regulatory agencies in the world to indicate the producers of fomepizole in their countries.
The government has also made an official request to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) for the immediate donation of 100 fomepizole treatments.
Source: Agência Brasil