ONGOLE: The Kurichedu incident, in which 16 people died after drinking sanitiser, has forced authorities to wake up to a new threat, something that they had not foreseen.
“The reality is that no one had thought that hand sanitiser can be lethal until alcohol addicts in the town started falling sick,” Markapur division drug inspector T Venkata Krishna, who collected the samples from pharmacies for lab inspection, said.
Meanwhile, the Drug Control Administration (DCA) and experts at de-addiction centres have started spreading awareness on the ill-effects of sanitiser consumption.
“Regular consumption of sanitiser can lead to one developing heart and gastrointestinal problems. It may cause liver damage and brain stroke, apart from other complications, in a very short span of time. If consumed on an empty stomach, sanitiser will enter the blood flow, causing cardiomyopathy that can cause heart failure and eventual death,” Dr Venkateswarlu, a gastroenterologist, said.
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, usage of alcohol-based sanitiser, which also works as a medical disinfectant, is prescribed as it is considered effective in getting rid of pathogens.
It generally comprises 70 per cent of ethanol or ethyl alcohol and 30 per cent of water, and colouring and flavouring agents.If methyl alcohol is used as the main component, then it is considered dangerous for even a hand wash as the solution can be absorbed by human skin and mix with the blood flow.
The drug inspector recently inspected sanitiser stocked by all the 10 pharmacies in Kurichedu and submitted the samples to laboratories in Vijayawada and Kolkata for a comprehensive analysis report.
“So far, we have only found minor faults such as mistakes in billing, lack of proper stock registers and the likes. Any conclusion can only be derived after the lab report comes,” he said.“Even if sanitiser is mixed with water, the alcohol concentration will remain up to 50-60 per cent, which too is dangerous,” Venkata Krishna explained.
M Vara Prasad, assistant director, DCA-Ongole, said five manufacturing units are supplying sanitiser to 1,600 pharmacies in the district.
“We found that all the units are producing sanitiser as per the norms. Even as lab reports are awaited, all medical stores have been asked to enquire if someone buys the solution in large quantities. If they doubt the customers’ reasoning, then they must inform the police immediately.”
Meanwhile, experts at the de-addiction centre said they have been facing difficulty in counselling people who consumed sanitiser.
“It is a new challenge for us. They say that unavailability and high price of liquor are prompting them to consume sanitiser. However, they are now starting to realise how dangerous it can be for them,” Dr Raghavendra Rao, nodal officer of the centre at RIMS, Ongole, told TNIE.The Special Enforcement Bureau has also deployed teams to survey 34 surrounding villages.