Dr. Abhin Singala was in the emergency room of Presence
Saint Joseph Medical Center when he smelled rotting flesh. He instantly knew krokodil had made its way to Illinois. He told CBS News three patients were being treated for the horrific side-effects that come along with krokodil injection.[1]
The three are all women under 25. Two of the women were acquainted and it's believed they all got the drug from the same place. One of them "had the destruction that occurs because of this drug, over 70 percent of her
lower body.”
Here's the really scary part: At least two of the women believed what they had been using was heroin. They weren't told the drug was krokodil. They came to the hospital for help coming off heroin and Dr Singala told them what they had actually been taking.[2] This worries officials in Joliet, near Chicago, IL who say the area is already in the middle of a heroin epidemic. Addicts who are just looking for a fix don't know what they're being sold and the drug's damage begins.
Several articles we came across online referred to reports of the drug in Arizona and Utah in the past two weeks but after a lengthy search we couldn't find anything about Utah. All we found were DEA officials talking about their fears that the drug would make its way from Arizona into Utah. Officials in Illinois believe the drug made it's way there so quickly because of its location as a hub along the country's highway system. The same day that Dr. Singala gave a press release about the cases, Will County Police Lt. Brian
Dupuis said they'd never heard of the drug and weren't aware of anyone being hospitalized for it.[3]
Officials hope word of mouth helps prevent more cases of krokodil use from occurring. Dr. Singala agrees with us that as gruesome as the pictures out there of krokodil effects are, parents should show them to their kids. The pictures will stay with them much longer than you can say to them.
**UPDATE** 11-20-13
Three new cases of krokodil use were reported this week Canada. Critics have spoken out, saying emergency doctors are jumping the gun as test results have not proven krokodil use. A Canadian doctor treating one of the suspected cases told reporters the see heroine and IV drug users regularly with sores and severe infections from using dirty needles, and that is not what they are seeing. While the headlines show the drug moving through North America, a spokesman for the DEA reiterated they haven't yet confirmed a case of krokodil use.
Sorry about the huge text ad, that's Big Brother Google. We don't see a dime.
[1] Flesh-Eating Street Drug ‘Krokodil’ Hits
Chicago Area . October 9, 2013 . CBS Chicago. Mike Parker. http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2013/10/09/flesh-eating-street-drug-krokodil-hits-chicago-area/
[2] Joliet Krokodil Victims: Young, Middle-Class
& Female, Doctor Says. October 9, 2013. The Joliet Patch. Karen Sorenson. http://joliet.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/joliet-krokodil-victims-young-middleclass--female-doctor-says
[3] First Victims of 'Flesh-Eating' Street Drug
Being Treated by Joliet Doctor. October 8, 2013. The Joliet Patch. Karen Sorenson.http://joliet.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/first-local-victims-of-flesh
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