Fentanyl is here: locals test positive for potent opioid

People in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal have tested positive for fentanyl, a laboratory-made painkiller that has been at the centre of the opioid crisis in the US.

- Jesse Copelyn

In the US, fentanyl has caused tens of thousands of deaths each year, often among people in their 20s and 30s.

Up until recently, South Africa appeared to be insulated from the illicit fentanyl crisis.

But preliminary research suggests the drug has made its way onto our streets. The study is still ongoing, but lead researcher Dr Alanna Bergman provided information about the findings so far.

Bergman is an American nursing scientist who received funding from Johns Hopkins University to import highly precise urine drug tests. In February, she began using them to test people at clinics in East London, Port Elizabeth and Durban.

The patients tested were people who had drug-resistant TB and were being monitored as part of a separate study.

Nurses suspected that many people in the group may have been using substances.