The Canadian government has issued a fresh warning to its citizens travelling to Nigeria over the consumption of unregulated and adulterated alcoholic drinks following a deadly methanol poisoning outbreak in Ondo State.
The warning was added to Canada's official Travel Advice and Advisories for Nigeria on September 21, with the government specifically highlighting the risks associated with alcoholic beverages containing high concentrations of methanol.
Canada stated that casualties have occurred following the consumption of unregulated and adulterated alcohol containing high levels of methanol, prompting the government to include a dedicated section on unregulated alcohol in its safety and security advisory.
Canadian travellers have been advised to purchase alcoholic drinks only from reputable establishments and to seek medical assistance if they begin to feel sick after consuming alcohol.
The advisory comes days after Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control confirmed that locally prepared alcoholic and herbal concoctions had been linked to a major outbreak of illness and deaths in parts of Ondo State.
According to NAFDAC, 48 people had died while 182 cases of illness had been recorded as of September 17, with affected communities including New Town, Odole, Okele, Orita Odigbo, Araromi-Obu and Oniparaga in Ondo State.
Laboratory examinations conducted on 15 unlabelled samples of the suspected drinks detected high concentrations of methanol, while 11 of the samples also tested positive for Cannabis indica.
NAFDAC said confirmatory analyses were still ongoing to determine the precise concentration of methanol in the drinks and establish whether other toxic substances were present.
The agency also reported that seven victims had been rendered blind, highlighting the severe health consequences associated with consuming drinks contaminated with toxic levels of methanol.
Further laboratory testing showed significant toxic potential, with acute oral toxicity tests involving six samples resulting in approximately 50 per cent mortality among laboratory mice.
Methanol is a highly toxic substance that can cause serious poisoning, including visual impairment, organ damage and death, particularly when contaminated beverages are consumed unknowingly.
NAFDAC has therefore urged Nigerians and visitors to avoid unlicensed, unregistered and locally prepared alcoholic or herbal concoctions whose ingredients and production conditions cannot be verified.
The regulator has also advised anyone who develops sudden visual disturbances, severe headache, difficulty breathing or altered consciousness after consuming such products to seek immediate medical attention.
Authorities have arrested 15 people in connection with the suspected production, sale and distribution of the implicated beverages as investigations continue into the source of the contamination.
The Canadian warning forms part of a broader travel advisory covering Nigeria, where Canada currently advises against non-essential travel because of security concerns including terrorism, crime, inter-communal clashes, armed attacks and kidnapping.
However, Canada's broader non-essential travel warning excludes Lagos and Calabar, where Canadian travellers are instead advised to exercise a high degree of caution.
The latest alcohol warning is specifically focused on product safety rather than a blanket restriction on alcohol consumption, with the Canadian government directing travellers towards reputable establishments and prompt medical care when illness develops.
The development also places renewed attention on the safety of locally produced alcoholic and herbal beverages in Nigeria, particularly products sold without clear labelling, registration or reliable information about their ingredients.
As Nigerian authorities continue investigating the Ondo outbreak, the combination of the Canadian advisory and NAFDAC's laboratory findings has underscored the potential danger of consuming alcoholic products from unknown sources.