This new test being distributed in Delaware can detect fentanyl and ‘tranq’ in drugs, health officials say

Delaware health officials are piloting a first-of-its-kind drug test to protect people from xylazine, or tranq, a dangerous animal tranquilizer that has contaminated the Philadelphia region’s drug supply.

The testing strips, small lengths of paper similar to a COVID-19 rapid test, can detect the presence of both xylazine and the synthetic opioid fentanyl in a drug sample, officials said.

Strips that separately detect xylazine and fentanyl are already being distributed in the United States, but the new HARMGuard FX test strip is the first available here to combine both tests.

The state purchased 500 test strips for a pilot program that launched this week. The strips retail for about $3 a piece, but bulk orders are cheaper, said Jermonica Boardley, CEO of SIVAD Diagnostic Medical Group, the Bear, Del company producing them.

The tests work similarly to other field drug tests and to rapid COVID-19 tests. A small sample of a drug is dissolved in water; then the test strip is placed in the solution.

When soaked, the strip will display a “control” line to show that the test was carried out properly. Below the control line, the strip has two sections: one for fentanyl, and one for xylazine. If the strip does not display a line in either of those sections, that’s a sign that the drug contains those adulterants.

Three lines denote that the drug does not contain fentanyl or xylazine.

Health officials in Delaware hope that the new test strips will help people using drugs to avoid the serious wounds and difficult-to-reverse overdoses associated with xylazine.

Xylazine is relatively new in Delaware, turning up in the drug supply about six months ago, said Sandra Gibney, an internal medicine specialist and advocate with Brandywine Counseling and Community Services who works closely with state residents in addiction.

Philadelphia has been dealing with xylazine’s presence in the drug supply for the last several years.

City health officials believe xylazine, which is not approved for human use, was initially added to fentanyl to produce a longer-lasting high. Fentanyl is a deadly synthetic opioid that replaced most of the heroin in the city’s drug supply in the mid-2010s. While more powerful than heroin, its effects wear off more quickly.

Many people who use xylazine suffer from open skin lesions that heal slowly, putting them at risk for infections and even amputations.

Xylazine isn’t an opioid, but can have a similar sedating effect and slow the breathing. But it will not respond to naloxone, also known as Narcan, the drug used to reverse opioid overdoses. That can make it harder to revive a person after a fentanyl-xylazine overdose.

The drug also causes serious withdrawal symptoms — including severe chills, sweating, anxiety, and agitation.

Rates of death involving xylazine remain low relative to overdose deaths nationwide, making up about 3% of all drug overdose deaths in 2021, according to a recent study from the Centers for Disease Control. But federal researchers say they have increased dramatically since 2018, and the problem is most pronounced on the East Coast.

Nearly all xylazine-related overdose deaths between 2018 and 2021 also involved fentanyl, the CDC study found.

Delaware health officials want to get ahead of the xylazine trend. Already, street drug testing has revealed that 70% to 90% of the illicit powdered opioids sold in the state contain xylazine, according to Gibney.

For people who use drugs, being able to test for two drugs at once is more convenient than using separate strips to check for xylazine and fentanyl, they said.

“Most folks are honest: They don’t want xylazine. They don’t want these wounds,” Gibney said.

State Lieutenant Gov. Bethany Hall-Long said the testing strips also come with a QR code that people with addiction can scan to seek treatment.

“It’s not only about giving out clean needles or wound care or Narcan,” she said. “It’s also about making sure people have access immediately to treatment and follow-up services.”

The tests have been validated in labs certified by the Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration, and can detect fentanyl and xylazine at low thresholds, according to Broadly, the CEO of the company producing them.

She wanted to launch the testing strips in Delaware first because health officials had asked them for a tool like this — and because, as a Delaware-based company, the rise in xylazine hits home.

“No one should have to deal with losing a loved one to this opioid crisis,” she said.