In this US county, flesh-rotting ‘zombie drug’ has led to 9 deaths, 150 overdoses in 18 months

This photo is from Philadelphia where the zombie drug menace is spreading. (Image: @dammiedammie35/Twitter)

USA’s zombie drug epidemic has claimed nine lives and led to 150 cases of overdose in a Florida county in the last 18 months alone, officials say. Zombie drug xylazine is an animal tranquilizer, also known as “tranq,” that has emerged as the biggest drug threat in the US. Laced with fentanyl and sold on the streets, it is known for leaving addicts hunched over like zombies, besides rotting flesh at the site of injection.

In Florida’s Orange County, Sheriff John Mina said 80% of fentanyl seized during a recent takedown contained xylazine, according to The New York Post.

Besides rotting the flesh, this zombie drug causes low blood pressure, slow heart rate and difficulty breathing. Since xylazine is not an opioid, it salso does not respond to the overdose-reversing drug naloxone, which is commonly sold under the brand name Narcan.

“Perhaps the scariest thing about xylazine and its prevalence in street drugs here and throughout the country is that it is not receptive to Narcan,” Mina said.

The zombie drug has spread to opioid-ravaged parts of the United States – from Philadelphia to San Francisco to Orange County. “The drugs were targeting areas that already had a massive problem” with opioids, said Capt. Darryl Blanford with the Orange County Sheriff's Office Narcotics Squad.

Viral videos from Philadelphia, where it first appeared, show people unable to stand, almost incapacitated and lifeless under the effects of the drug.

Even more alarming is the fact that prolonged use can lead to amputation. The drug can cause raw wounds on the user’s skin that can spread rapidly with repeated exposure. It starts with ulcers, hardens to dead skin called eschar, and if left untreated can result in amputation.