The ‘zombie drug’ has its first victim in the UK and could be widespread across the country | UK News

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Xylazine, which has wreaked havoc among addicts in the United States, was discovered in Karl Warburton’s system “accidentally” last May after his death.

Thursday, May 25, 2023 01:12, United Kingdom

Experts have warned that a new ‘zombie drug’ has claimed its first British victim and could spread widely across the UK.

The death last May of 43-year-old Carl Warburton was the first recorded death from xylazine, a powerful sedative that has ravaged cities across the United States.

Used by veterinarians to sedate large animals, xylazine lowers heart and breathing rates to dangerous levels and can cause large patches of rotting flesh when injected, leading to the nickname “the zombie drug.”

The father of two, who has been referred to addiction services, is believed to have taken heroin laced with fentanyl and xylazine.

The factory worker was found in the living room of his home in Solihull, West Midlands

The coroner determined the cause of his death to be severe aspiration pneumonia, lung injury caused by inhalation of toxins, and listed xylazine as a contributing factor.

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The presence of the drug in his system was discovered “accidentally” after toxicologists noticed a “strange peak” in the results of the drug’s examination.

Now experts have warned that xylazine – known on the street as tranq – could actually be circulating in Britain’s heroin supply because drug tests are not designed to detect it.

It has contributed to an epidemic of drug deaths in the United States, with research by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) showing that it accounts for 7% of overdoses nationwide—and as high as 26% in some states.

Read more: A new drug that causes terror on the streets of the United States, xylazine compounds the overdose crisis in America

Dr Caroline Copeland, director of the National Program on Drug Use Deaths, led a study of Mr Warburton’s death at King’s College London.

It said it was “highly likely” that the drug was elsewhere on the UK drug market but had not been discovered.

Image: The wounds it causes have led to xylazine being called the “zombie drug.”

Dr. Copeland cautioned that regular drug screenings should be updated to look for the drug and that users should be made aware of the additional risks of xylazine.

“If it appears in one place, it is unlikely that this is the only preparation that contains (xylazine),” she said.

It may be somewhere else but it hasn’t been discovered.

“The quickest thing to do is tell heroin users this is out there.”

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