24 May 2023 , 16:01
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The first person in the UK who has died from taking the terrifying new "zombie drug" has been named as a British dad, it has been reported.
Factory worker Karl Warburton, 43, died last May from xylazine, which is used by vets as a tranquilliser for large animals such as horses and cows.
The drug has never been approved for human use as it can cause flesh-rotting sores on takers’ skin.
Also known as tranq, it has caused an epidemic of deaths in the US as it causes skin and muscle to rot away if mixed with illegal drugs such as heroin and fentanyl.
The father-of-two's death was announced in the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine from King’s College London (KCL), which said he overdosed on a mix of xylazine, heroin, fentanyl and cocaine in May 2022.
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Xylazine is used by vets as a tranquilliser for large animals such as horses and cows (CBS NEWS)A coroner determined the cause of death as acute aspiration pneumonitis, a condition often caused by inhaling toxins, and listed xylazine as a contributing factor.
Karl died from the effects of xylazine combined with other drugs including heroin, fentanyl and cocaine, The Times reported.
He was found dead last May at his home in Birmingham surrounded by drug paraphernalia.
The drug is known as tranq, it has caused an epidemic of deaths in the US as it causes skin and muscle to rot away (KTLA)Karl battled drug abuse for most of his life and struggled to engage with addiction services, it was reported.
The drug was first noticed on British shores when toxicologists at the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths (NPSAD) noticed a "strange peak" in test results, which was later identified as xylazine.
Dr Caroline Copeland, senior author from KCL and director of the NPSAD, said authorities do not know how widespread xylazine is in the UK as it is not included in standard drug screenings.
She said: "How big is the UK's xylazine problem? This could be the tiniest tip of a growing iceberg.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the drug is prevalent in seven per cent of overdoses across the US.
Those who overdose on xylazine do not respond to any known antidote, according to an FDA warning.
Those who overdose on xylazine do not respond to any known antidote, according to an FDA warning (KLTA 5)Declaring a "widespread threat", DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said: “Xylazine is making the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier.
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“DEA has seized xylazine and fentanyl mixtures in 48 of 50 states.”
DEA LA Field Division spokesperson Nicole Nishida told : “In the greater Los Angeles area, we are seeing xylazine as an additive within fake fentanyl pills.
“While the numbers are relatively low in our community compared to elsewhere in the United States, the presence of xylazine is now becoming more frequent and the trend is concerning.”
Meanwhile, one addiction expert commented he’s “never seen anything like what we’re dealing with right now.”
One of the worst hit cities in the US for the xylazine crisis is Philadelphia.
The drug is behind a terrifying 26 per cent of all overdose deaths in Pennsylvania, the National Institutes of Health reported.