The St. Louis Fire Chief is warning his paramedics to watch for a new flesh-eating drug that's turning up in other parts of the country.
Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson says the so-called "Zombie drug" hasn't been seen here yet, but he's telling his ambulance workers to watch out for signs. "What they will see will be ulcers and sores... ...on the arms, wherever they do the injections. It's becoming an issue. We put out bulletins on it."
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Jenkerson says the synthetic veterinary drug is mixed with fentanyl and other opiods. It's called xylazine and the National Institute on Drug Abuse says deaths linked to the drug have spread from the West.
He add it doesn't respond well to Narcan when paramedics try to revive overdose victims. Right now, the St. Louis Fire Department makes 15-20 ambulance runs a day for overdose cases.
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