Why UK warn citizens against methanol poisoning for Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and five oda kontris

UK Foreign Office don add eight countries to one list wey dey warn of di risk of methanol poisoning from fake or tainted alcoholic drinks.

Di countries wey include Ecuador, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Russia and Uganda dey for di updated travel guidance, afta incidents wey involve Britons for di areas.

Di advice dey come afta increase for di cases of serious sickness and death wey alcoholic drinks wey get methanol cause for popular overseas travel destinations.

Di guidance bifor bin cover Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Turkey, Costa Rica and Fiji, and e follow a number of high-profile incidents wey include di death of six tourists for Laos last year.

Authorities don advise travellers to watch out for signs of methanol poisoning like blurry vision and confusion, wey fit lead to serious illness and death.

Methanol na one industrial chemical wey dey antifreeze and windscreen washer fluid. No be for human consumption and e dey highly toxic.

But instances dey of corrupt backyard brewers wey dey add methanol to drinks, and some bars and street sellers also dey mix am wit spirit-based drinks and cocktails to cut costs.

Di Foreign Office don start one new advertising campaign and dem don update dia travel advice pages to include information on recognising symptoms and reducing risks of methanol poisoning.

Dem advise British nationals wey dey go abroad to buy sealed drinks from licensed establishments, avoid homemade alcohol and pre-mixed spirits, cocktails and drinks wey dem dey serve for buckets or jugs.

Di Foreign Office advise travellers to watch out for warning signs of poisoning, wey include nausea, vomiting, dizziness and confusion.

Experts say methanol poisoning for di early stages fit resemble alcohol poisoning, but symptoms, like vision issues, fit develop between 12-48 hours afta consumption.

Victim wey die from Methanol poisoning

Last month, campaigners plus di families of some of di Britons wey don die or wey injure from methanol poisoning abroad bin meet members of di travel industry and MPs for parliament.

Amanda Dennis wey represent di family of Simone White, one 28-year-old lawyer from Orpington wey be one of di six backpackers wey die from methanol poisoning for Laos, dey among dos wey dey call for greater awareness.

"All dis youngsters just die unnecessarily, and na death wey dey so easily avoided if to say more awareness dey, if to say more knowledge dey, and if to say dem teach am for schools," she tok.

23-year-old Calum Macdonald, from Sunbury-on-Thames, bin go blind wen same tin hapun.

"I dey sure say if I dey aware of di risks, I no go dey here today without my vision."

Hamish Falconer, di Foreign Office minister wey dey responsible for consular and crisis, tok say: "Methanol poisoning fit kill. E fit dey difficult to detect wen drinking and early symptoms show ordinary alcohol poisoning. By di time travellers realise di danger, e fit dey too late."

E add: "No family suppose endure wetin di campaigners families don suffer. Dia determination to prevent odas wey dey face di same tragedy dey instrumental in driving forward these vital updates to our travel advice."

Wetin be methanol?

Methanol na industrial chemical dem dey see for antifreeze and windscreen washer fluid.

No be for human consumption and e dey highly toxic.

To drink even small amounts fit dey damaging. Few shots of bootleg spirit wey contain am fit dey deadly.

Wetin methanol dey do for pipo body?

Methanol dey look and taste like alcohol, and di first effects dey di same – e fit make you feel intoxicated and sick.

Initially, pipo fit no realise say anytin dey wrong.

Di harm dey hapun hours later as di body dey try to clear am from di body by breaking it down for di liver.

Dis metabolism go create toxic by-products wey dem call formaldehyde, formate and formic acid.

Dis build up, attacking nerves and organs fit lead to blindness, coma and death.

Dr Christopher Morris, one senior lecturer for Newcastle University, say: "Formate, wey be di main toxin produced, dey act in a similar way to cyanide and e dey stop energy production in cells, and di brain dey very vulnerable to dis.

"Dis dey make certain parts of di brain to dey damaged. E also dey directly affect di eyes, and e fit cause blindness, wey don hapun to many pipo wey dey exposed to high levels of methanol."

Out of di victims so far, five of di six na women.

Toxicity from methanol dey related to di dose you get and how your body handle am.

E just be like alcohol, di less you weigh, di more di amount you take fit affect you.

Dr Knut Erik Hovda from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), wey track methanol poisonings, tok say di level of awareness dey different among tourists and healthcare staff for different parts of di world - and dat fit mean delays in diagnosing am.

"Di symptoms no dey too show until di sickness enta body well-well," e tell BBC.

Treatment of methanol poisoning?

Poisoning na medical emergency and suppose dey treated for hospital.

Medicines dey wey dem fit use treat am, dem also fit use dialysis to clean di blood.

Dem fit use alcohol (ethanol) treat some cases to remove di methanol metabolism. But dem get to do am quickly.

Prof Alastair Hay, one expert for environmental toxicology from di University of Leeds, explain say: "Ethanol dey act as a competitive inhibitor wey mostly dey stop methanol breakdown, e go slow am down, and allow di body to vent methanol from di lungs and some through di kidneys, and small through sweat."

Dr Hovda tok say getting help quickly afta consuming methanol dey important for chances of surviving.

"You fit remove all di substance, if you go hospital early enough and if di hospital get di treatment needed," e tok.

"You fit die from a very small proportion of methanol and you fit still survive from large portion, if you get help.

"Di most important antidote na regular alcohol."

How travellers fit avoid methanol poisoning?

Di advice for travellers na to sabi wetin dem dey drink and to dey aware of di risks.

Make dem only buy drink from reputable, licensed premises and avoid home-brewed drinks or bootleg spirits.

Dem dey produce Methanol during di brewing process and concentrated by distillation.

Commercial manufacturers go reduce am to levels wey dey safe for human consumption. However, yeye backyard brewers or odas for di supply chain fit sometimes add industrially produced methanol, to make am plenty and increase profits.

Dr Hovda tok say dem dey mix methanol inside alcohol "mostly for profit reasons, bicos e dey cheaper and easily available".

E also dey possible to produce high levels of methanol by contaminating microbes during traditional ethanol fermentation.

Di UK Foreign Office don advise travellers: "Take care if dem offer you, particularly for free, or wen you dey buy spirit-based drinks. If di labels, smell or taste seem wrong, den no drink am."

Which drinks fit contain methanol?

Affected drinks fit include:

To protect yourself from methanol poisoning: