A so-called zombie drug which has claimed its first British victim could be widespread and drug screenings need to be updated to look for it, according to a panel of experts who studied the death.
Karl Warburton, 43, died at his home in Solihull, near Birmingham, in May 2022 and is believed to be the first recorded fatality caused by xylazine, a veterinary tranquilizer which has caused devastation among addicts in the United States.
Xylazine—which should only be used to tranquilize large animals—lowers the heart and breathing rate and can cause large patches of rotting flesh if it is injected.
Research by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says xylazine is prevalent in 7 percent of overdoses across the United States and in some states it is blamed for up to 26 percent of all deaths….