Because of an illegal version of the painkiller fentanyl more than 1,000 people died in two years, the government reports revealed on Thursday while making its first tally of those deaths.
The occurrences of fentanyl overdoses came to light in Chicago first in 2005 while further cluster were noted in Detroit, Philadelphia and other cities by 2006.
The gradual reports of deaths from the drug were often given in local newspapers but now CDC’s report confirms 1,013 deaths from early April 2005 till late March 2007.
Dr. Steven Marcus who is the co-author of that new report and the executive director of New Jersey’s poison control center says, “It wasn’t less than an epidemic.”
The study’s lead author, Dr. T. Stephen Jones explains that there are still reports of deaths from this illegal fentanyl but the brunt of that outbreak has over especially after authorities shut down operation for the drug making in Mexico during May 2006.
“It almost vanished completely and the shutting down of the Toluca facility in Mexico was perhaps the basic factor.” Jones, who is retired consultant from the CDC, adds.
The report will be published in the coming week in a weekly Morbidity and Mortality report of CDC.
Fentanyal has been used as a prescription painkiller and mostly given to the cancer patients, but it is also a potent euphoria-inducing medicine that is 30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin.
The illegal versions of the drug are offered as a powder that also has cocaine or heroine mixed.
National health statistics suggest that the rate from unintentional drug poisonings increased twice from 1999 to 2005.
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