CDC reports sharp rise in carfentanil-related overdose deaths in Illinois

CHICAGO - The CDC's latest report on drug overdose deaths reveals a startling new trend.

In a FOX 32 special report, Elizabeth Matthews takes a closer look at the rare cause behind some of these deaths.

According to the CDC's latest report, overall overdose deaths began declining in 2023. However, one area remains a cause for concern, showing a significant increase: overdose deaths involving carfentanil.

"It's usually used as a tranquilizing agent for large mammals like elephants," said Luis Agostini, Public Information Officer for the Chicago DEA Field Division. "So you can just imagine the impact it can have on the human body."

Although rare, the CDC's report found the number of overdose deaths involving carfentanil more than tripled in the last year in 37 states. Illinois had one of the highest totals.

"We say that fentanyl is about 100 times more potent than morphine and probably 50 times more than heroin and carfentanil is even 100 times more potent than fentanyl," said Dr. Amit Gupta, emergency physician and addiction medicine specialist. "So we’re talking about an extreme potency compared to heroin."

The CDC warns that overdose deaths could rise substantially if carfentanil continues to infiltrate the drug supply. It was previously found in local outbreaks from 2016-2017 but is now reported in dozens of states nationwide.

"We seized a significant amount of drugs that contain carfentanil both in Wisconsin and Indiana," said Agostini. "Most of the seized drug exhibits that we're analyzing and processing that have carfentanil are mixed in with a various amount of other narcotics, whether its cocaine or meth or fentanyl."

"The issue with these more potent opioids, like fentanyl, carfentanil, they require a lot higher doses of naloxone than we traditionally use before," said Dr. Gupta.

While administering more naloxone doesn’t harm the body, Dr. Gupta says the problem is that if a patient has had low oxygen, it takes longer to reverse the overdose, potentially leading to brain damage.

"There really never has been a more dangerous time to engage in drug use," said Agostini. "That’s why we tell folks if the pill that you get is not prescribed by your doctor or not dispensed at a registered pharmacy, chances are you are taking something that’s very dangerous."

Since carfentanil has a chemical structure similar to fentanyl, Dr. Gupta says fentanyl test strips should also be able to detect carfentanil.

However, the strip won’t differentiate between the two or tell you how much of either drug is present in what you are testing.