Nine people were admitted to San Diego hospitals for severe myonecrosis infections in the past two months, with seven of those patients dying. Patients’ ages ranged from 19 to 57.
The soft tissue infection begins as pain or swelling around a wound or injection site. If untreated, the infection can lead to shock, amputations or death.
“People who use black tar heroin are not only at higher risk of dying from an overdose, but also more prone to developing myonecrosis and wound botulism,” Wilma Wooten, MD, a San Diego county public health officer, said in a statement cited by ABC News.
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