"Monkey tail" kills 48 people in Nigeria

LAGOS - AFP - Forty-eight people died and 182 others were injured in Nigeria in recent weeks after consuming locally produced alcoholic beverages contaminated with methanol, according to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

The deaths were recorded in three local government areas of Ondo State in southwestern Nigeria, after victims consumed a locally brewed alcoholic mixture that local media reported is known as "Monkey Tail."

Laboratory tests revealed "high concentrations of methanol," a lethal alcohol compound, as well as the "indica" strain of cannabis, in samples of the mixture, according to the agency.