San Diego, Ca: 9 People Contract FEB from Black Tar Heroin: Seven Dead

Yaqui for Borderland Beat from: CNN y y NBCSD y Science Direct

Seven people in San Diego have died in the last two months from a flesh-eating bacteria associated with black tar heroin use, according to health officials. FEB is also know as Gas Gangrene.

Nine people who injected the drug were admitted to hospitals in San Diego County with severe myonecrosis between October 2 and November 24, the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency announced in a news release Wednesday. The patients ranged in age from 19 to 57 years old, the statement said. Only two survived.

Myonecrosis is a severe soft tissue infection that destroys the muscle. Symptoms often include severe pain near the injection site, swelling, fever, blisters and pale skin that changes to dark red or purple.

Another rare illness associated with black tar heroin injection was reported in San Diego County in October, the statement said. It was the county's first confirmed case this year of wound botulism -- a serious illness that attacks the body's nerves. Seven cases were reported last year and three in 2017.

Health officials have advised the medical community to be on the lookout for additional cases of severe soft tissue infections linked to heroin use.

"People who use black tar heroin are not only at higher risk of dying from an overdose, but also more prone to developing myonecrosis and wound botulism," said Dr. Wilma Wooten, a public health officer for San Diego County.

The sources of the black tar heroin are unknown, the statement said, but an investigation is ongoing and additional cases may occur.

A flesh-eating bacteria linked to the use of black tar heroin has killed at least seven people over the past two months in the San Diego area, prompting health authorities to alert law enforcement and other officials in California.

The nine people who injected black tar heroin between Oct. 2 and Nov. 24 were hospitalized with severe myonecrosis, a soft-tissue infection that destroys muscles. Of the seven who died, five were men. The nine patients ranged from 19 to 57.

Also, 13 people in Southern California have been diagnosed with wound botulism since Sept. 1, which also may be tied to black tar heroin, said Dr. Eric McDonald, director of epidemiology and immunization services at the San Diego County Health & Human Services Agency.

Law enforcement agencies are trying to determine the source of the heroin. It is unclear exactly how the bacteria was transmitted.

“It can be in the dirt, it can be on the surface of your skin, it can be the surface of a needle, but when you have a cluster like this, it makes it very suspicious that it’s the actual black tar heroin itself that’s contaminated,” McDonald said. “We’re sort of operating under that assumption.”

Officials have advised the local medical community to watch for additional cases of myonecrosis and wound botulism, a rare but serious illness that attacks the body’s nerves and is also linked to black tar heroin use.

Los Angeles County officials said Nov. 21 that the county had two confirmed and two suspected cases of wound botulism associated with heroin injection since Oct. 13.

It is unknown if anyone died from botulism but McDonald said it can be treated with antitoxins, unlike myonecrosis.

McDonald said San Diego County has a case of heroin-linked myonecrosis once every year or two and that an outbreak like this year’s is rare. There was an outbreak in Ventura County, California, in 1999 and 2000 that killed four people.

Symptoms of myonecrosis include pain, swelling, pale skin, blisters with foul-smelling discharge, fever, excessive sweating and increased heart rate.

If left untreated, myonecrosis can spread through the body and cause people to go into shock. It can lead to amputations or death.

Symptoms of wound botulism can sometimes be mistaken for a drug overdose and occur within days or weeks of injecting contaminated drugs. Symptoms can include drooping eyelids, blurred vision, dry mouth, sore throat, slurred speech and paralysis.

Left untreated, symptoms may lead to paralysis of the respiratory muscles, arms, legs and torso and can cause death.

Black tar heroin is sticky like roofing tar or hard like coal and is predominantly produced in Mexico and sold in U.S. areas west of the Mississippi River, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The dark color results from crude processing methods that leave behind impurities. Impure heroin is usually dissolved, diluted, and injected into veins, muscles or under the skin.

A 2016 survey by the Drug Enforcement Administration found black tar heroin sold in 12 Western cities, including San Diego, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Denver, nearly all of it from Mexico. Purity ranged from 34% to 43%.

Any injection drug users with symptoms of severe myonecrosis or wound botulism should seek medical attention immediately at the nearest emergency department. In addition, those who use black tar heroin should stop and seek treatment for opioid addiction. Although using injection practices recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will reduce risk for serious infections, “cooking” black tar heroin does not kill the bacteria that cause wound botulism.

For a fascinating look at what one bad batch of dope can do use the Science Direct Link at Top.

Why chance it ??