US Deaths Linked to Animal Tranquilizer Explode, CDC Data Show

The danger from a little-known sedative that’s frequently combined with opioids exploded from 2018 to 2021 as deaths linked to the drug rose by 34 times.

Overdose deaths involving xylazine grew to 3,468 from 102 over the study period, according to research released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. Almost all of those deaths also involved fentanyl, according to the study of death certificates, an extremely potent synthetic opioid with its own soaring toll.

The US has been in the grip of an opioid overdose epidemic for years, with almost ...