Overdose death involving possible synthetic opioid sparks health warning

In short:

Authorities in Tasmania have called on health care professionals to be prepared with opioid counteracting drugs.

The warning comes following an overdose death involving a substance suspected to have been "laced with a strong opioid".

The case is the "first known detection of the novel synthetic opioid from the novel U-class" in Tasmania.

Health authorities in Tasmania have issued a public warning after an overdose death that may have been brought about by drugs "possibly laced with a strong opioid".

In a statement, the Department of Health said the deceased person, who has not been identified, "may not have known" about the contamination.

The case is the "first known detection of the novel synthetic opioid, from the novel U-class, in Tasmania", Department of Health Acting Secretary Dinesh Arya said.

"U-class opioids are not regularly detected in Australia,'' he said.

"This is a dangerous substance and we do not want to see more of it.

Dr Arya said there was "limited information available about these substances and how they affect individuals".

"Illicit drugs can contain unexpected substances that can have very different effects on the body than those that might be expected by the person taking them.

"The effects of these drugs can lead to serious adverse health outcomes, which can include organ damage, unconsciousness, and even death."

Tasmanians are reminded to be aware of the signs of opioid overdose, including:

- slow, irregular or stopped breathing

- reduced consciousness or difficulty waking someone

- unresponsiveness

- pinpoint pupils

- blue or grey lips or fingertips.

If you witness someone experiencing such symptoms after using drugs, call Triple Zero (000) immediately or seek urgent medical attention.

"You can call the Poisons Information Line on 13 11 26 (available 24/7) if you think you or someone else has taken an overdose or is experiencing unexpected substance effects, " Dr Arya said.

'Short window' between ingesting and overdose

Senior research fellow at Burnet Institute, Amanda Roxburgh, said that while uncommon, U-class substances had been detected in a small number of deaths since as early as 2016.

"Novel synthetic opioids are a group of drugs that have been designed illegally to mimic the more pharmaceutical type of opioids like fentanyl, morphine and oxycodone," she said.

"What we're really worried about with this class of drugs is that there's no reliability in terms of their potency; they're really unpredictable.

"There's such a short window of time between someone consuming the substance and overdose, people can overdose and die within minutes."

Dr Roxburgh said it was difficult to know what country the substances came from, but they were most likely ordered online on the dark web.

"Because they're so potent, they're much easier to bring into the country because you can bring them in smaller amounts."

She said data from Australian emergency department presentations showed there were cases where people intentionally sought out a novel synthetic opioid, but they also contaminated other substances.

"We've seen them in methamphetamine, and even in ecstasy," Dr Roxburgh said.

"And of course, the worry with that is that if people don't know that they're taking an opioid, it makes it that much more dangerous if they've had no experience or tolerance to taking an opioid."

The Department of Health also issued an alert to health care professionals and other stakeholders to inform them of the detection of this novel synthetic opioid and to encourage the use of naloxone.

"Naloxone can temporarily reverse an opioid overdose and save a life," Dr Arya said.

For more information on the health effects of drugs and help for substance use, visit the information page for health effects of drugs.

For more information about the Department of Health's harm reduction public health initiative, visit the information page for needle and syringe program.