U.S. Attempts to Get Its Xylazine Problem Under Control
In February, we reported on the emerging problem of xylazine-laced fentanyl. In this report, we follow up on what has happened since doctors first started raising concerns about this contaminant and its effects. Early in 2023, word started to spread among physicians that a veterinary tranquilizer called xylazine — also known as “tranq” — was […]
Prenatal Fentanyl Exposure Suspected in Novel Syndrome
A possible link between a novel cholesterol metabolism disorder and prenatal fentanyl exposure is under investigation. The hypothesis is that prenatal fentanyl exposure possibly interferes with cholesterol metabolism, leading to findings resembling Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS) in 10 infants. However, Erica Fernandes, DO, a clinical geneticist at Nemours Children’s Health in Wilmington, Delaware, and study co-authors […]
CDC: Fentanyl Overdose Deaths Increased 279% Over Recent Years
Drug overdose death rates involving fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine increased from 2016 through 2021, CDC researchers said. The age-adjusted overdose death rate involving fentanyl rose by 279%, from 5.7 per 100,000 standard population in 2016 to 21.6 per 100,000 in 2021, reported Merianne Rose Spencer, MPH, an epidemiologist in the Division of Analysis and Epidemiology […]
Fentanyl Burden Growing in Wyoming – Wyoming Department of Health
Fentanyl Burden Growing in Wyoming October 13, 2022 With overdose deaths connected to synthetic opioid use rising in Wyoming and across the country, the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH), in coordination with Governor Mark Gordon, is sharing important information about fentanyl and similar drugs with state residents. Fentanyl is a synthetic, or manmade, opioid. In […]
Opinion | ‘Fentanyl Is Like the Boogeyman’: What We Heard This Week
“Fentanyl is like the boogeyman, it’s ubiquitous, it’s everywhere. It’ll creep in your mask, and there’s nothing you can do.” — Jon Zibbell, PhD, of RTI International in North Carolina, on a CDC video used to warn of fentanyl threat to police that may mislead officers about their risk of exposure and overdose. “Otherwise, these […]