Millennium Health Signals Alert™ Shows Carfentanil Extends Deadly Reach

New report identifies concerning uptick in detections of the lethal fentanyl analogue across the U.S. since reemerging in 2023

Carfentanil was detected 134 times in urine drug test (UDT) results in 21 states from July 2023 to June 2024 (see Map) compared to only 11 times in six states during the preceding three years, according to the latest Millennium Health Signals Alert™.

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(Graphic: Business Wire)

Fearing a spike in fatal overdoses like those that occurred in 2016-2017 when drug seizure exhibits containing carfentanil surged, public health officials in multiple states, including New York and Ohio, have recently issued warnings about carfentanil’s reemergence.

The analysis of more than 158,000 fentanyl-positive UDT specimens also showed that carfentanil use is associated with significantly higher rates of other drug use, including methamphetamine, xylazine, cocaine, benzodiazepines, and other fentanyl analogues.

“Because carfentanil is 100-times more potent than fentanyl and appearing in so many states, public health authorities are right to be worried,” said Angela Huskey, PharmD, CPE. “Given its history of contributing to overdose outbreaks and the volatility of these trends, we are monitoring carfentanil closely and will provide timely updates to raise awareness of its presence in our communities.”

A copy of the alert can be accessed here.

About Millennium Health

Millennium Health is an accredited specialty laboratory with over 15 years of experience in drug testing. We provide objective information about patients’ recent use of prescription medications and/or illicit drugs which helps clinicians monitor and treat millions of Americans living with chronic pain, substance use disorders, mental health disorders or other health conditions. Our ability to monitor drug use trends allows us to alert clinicians, health agencies and others to real-time drug use changes to help inform more targeted drug overdose prevention and response strategies to save lives.

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