First Xylazine-related overdose deaths reported in Travis County, typically used as animal sedative

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Travis County reported its first Xylazine-related overdose deaths, leaders announced Wednesday. It was not the only potentially fatal drug in their systems at their time of death, according to county staff.

The announcement comes after the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) warned of a "widespread" threat of fentanyl mixed with Xylazine nationwide.

The Travis County medical examiner said during a conference Wednesday since the beginning of August, the county has found at least five cases in which Xylazine was detected, four of those cases finalized. All of those people also had fentanyl and several other drugs in their system at the time of death as well.

According to the DEA, Xylazine is a sedative used on large animals. It's approved for that use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration but is not approved for human use.

Because of the strength of both Xylazine and fentanyl, the mixture is much more likely to cause overdoses and overdose deaths, the DEA said.

Unlike fentanyl, which is an opioid, Xylazine overdoses are not reversed by naloxone, or Narcan, the DEA reported. The agency still recommended administering the reversal treatment during a potential overdose as it does no harm regardless of whether a person is overdosing on opioids or not.

In addition, Xylazine could cause other symptoms, regardless of whether someone overdoses, the DEA warned.

"People who inject drug mixtures containing xylazine also can develop severe wounds, including necrosis—the rotting of human tissue—that may lead to amputation," the agency wrote.

This is a developing story and will be updated.