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Segment from CBC News: World Report on COVID-19 antibody rapid testing, aired on March 24, 2020. Interview conducted by Briar Stewart, National Reporter, CBC News.

Interior Health (IH) says its latest tool for keeping drug users safe offers an answer to the stigma users still face. Check out https://drugchecking.ca/

In 2016, drug overdose deaths exceeded 64,000 in the United States, driven by a sixfold increase in deaths attributable to illicitly manufactured fentanyl.

Fentanyl Test Strips: A potential intervention in the Opioid Crisis.

A new study, authored by a group of scientists from Brown University, Boston University, and the University of British Columbia, provides support for the idea that test strips could be a potent tool in the fight against fentanyl.

A controversial tool has emerged in the fight against opioid overdose deaths. It's a strip that allows people who use street drugs such as cocaine and heroin to test whether their drugs are laced with fentanyl.

In 2016, drug overdose deaths exceeded 64,000 in the United States, driven by a sixfold increase in deaths attributable to illicitly manufactured fentanyl.

A recent study led by the B.C. Centre on Substance Abuse (BCCSU) has revealed that nearly all substances labeled as heroin sold in Vancouver contain the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl.

Originally intended for urine drug tests, fentanyl testing strips are being used as an off-label harm reduction approach to test the presence or absence of fentanyl and many fentanyl analogs (very closely related drugs) in the unregulated drug supply.

City to study use of fentanyl-detecting test strips by distributing them in exchange vans.

More than 80 per cent of drugs sold as heroin on the streets of Vancouver don’t contain any heroin at all, while nearly all of them contain the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl. Full study to be posted in September.

A Vermont health care center has announced it will start giving away free test strips to determine if a drug contains fentanyl.

Fentanyl is to blame for 146 deaths in Vermont since 2016, when it overtook heroin and prescription painkillers as the most deadly opioid in the state. The potent synthetic has already killed 30 people in Vermont in 2018, more than heroin and prescription opioids combined, according to state data.

In addition to verifying that the BTNX Rapid Response Single Drug Test Strip accurately detected the presence of fentanyl in street drug samples, the researchers then surveyed drug users to learn how receptive they would be to use of the test.

Fentanyl, which is 50 times as potent as heroin, laces many batches of heroin and cocaine, and it is now involved in at least half of all opioid overdose deaths. More than 70,000 people died of drug overdoses last year—the equivalent of about three 747 plane crashes each week.

The number of positive tests for fentanyl in samples of heroin seized by law enforcement agencies across Canada has grown from less than one per cent in 2012 to more than 60 per cent so far this year, exclusive data obtained by CBC News has revealed.

Data collected from safe injection facilities in Canada indicate there has been a 2,000 percent rise in street drugs testing positive for fentanyl since 2012.

Seventy percent also said they would modify their behavior if they knew their drugs contained fentanyl, including avoiding the drugs, using them more slowly, or using them with others who have the antioverdose medication naloxone.

Harm reduction is a practical approach to keeping people safe. The approach aims to protect people who are engaged in higher-risk behaviour while at the same time, supporting them towards treatment and recovery.

The strips developed by the biotechnology company BTNX based in Toronto, Canada, are only sold to governments and harm reduction programs. CEO and founder Iqbal Sunderani said the state of California is his biggest customer.

California is paving the way!

According to the National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control, there were an estimated 64,000 drug overdose deaths in 2016 — and more than 20,000 were related to fentanyl, a type of opioid that is up to 100 times stronger than morphine.

TED talk on Harm Reduction.

While California has made some positive strides in the fight against opioids (the latest data show that prescriptions in the state are down), deaths from one particularly powerful opioid, fentanyl, are up.

"If you had a little bit of the drug you could pop in here...you would add a little bit of water… and then you use this test strip, hold it in, and if there was fentanyl present, two red lines or pink lines would appear," says Mark Townsend.

In one study of 242 heroin users in British Columbia, 70 tested positive for fentanyl—and more than 50 of those hadn’t known they were using it.

“We’re not trying to help people use drugs, we’re trying to help people stay alive,” said Lisa Fair, the Associate Director of HIV Prevention and Outreach at Circle Health Services.

RI Governor: Drug Overdose Deaths Decline, Signaling Progress.

A new study co-led by a Rhode Island epidemiologist found that a simple drug testing strip -- similar to a home pregnancy test --  accurately detected the potentially deadly opioid fentanyl in street drug samples.

A thin test strip -- similar to a pregnancy test -- can detect whether a street drug contains the dangerous opioid fentanyl, according to a new report.

Michael Marquesen first noticed about a year ago that fentanyl, a dangerous synthetic opioid, had hit the streets of Los Angeles. People suddenly started overdosing after they shot up a new white powder that dealers promised would give them a powerful high.

A record number of Canadians died of opioid overdoses in 2017, according to figures released by Health Canada today.

National report: Apparent opioid-related deaths in Canada (released March 2018).

These strips detect a deadly drug. But users still shoot up.

More than 1,900 people have died of illicit drug overdoses in B.C. since the province declared a public health emergency nearly two years ago.

A fast, cheap test to see if street drugs contain fentanyl is gaining favor with researchers and drug outreach workers as a breakthrough in preventing overdoses and slowing the nation’s growing death toll from opioid abuse.

Nearly two-thirds of people who use drugs surveyed for this project had experienced an opioid overdose at least once, and 8 in 10 attributed their last overdose to fentanyl. Forty-two percent had witnessed someone die of an overdose.

Health departments and community-based organizations across the country have been stepping up to respond to the opioid crisis. This project aimed to identify a potential tool they can use to prevent overdose deaths and engage with people who use opioids to help them move toward addiction treatment and other services.

Dr. Susan Sherman and Dr. Traci Green have long focused on improving the health of marginalized populations, including people with substance use disorders, sex workers and people with HIV. For this project, they wanted to both test a solution and begin to determine how well it might work in real-world settings.

A local woman wants more people in the Dayton area to know about low-price test strips that detect fentanyl in street drugs, and proponents say could help opioid abusers avoid fatal overdoses.

No drug has fueled the current spike in overdose deaths more than fentanyl. The synthetic opioid claimed two thirds of the record 64,000 such fatalities in the U.S. in 2016.

Life expectancy in the United States has declined for two years in a row, largely driven by the opioid epidemic. Overdoses claimed more than 64,000 lives in 2016 and all indications are that the impact of the crisis in 2017 will be even greater.

Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, is the primary cause of the rapid increase in overdose deaths.

“Drug checking” is a service that chemically analyzes drug samples and provides results to people who use drugs so that they can take steps to protect themselves.

Research is beginning to show that cheap strips can accurately detect deadly fentanyl, and encourages people to get high more cautiously.

It costs Jess Tilley $1 to purchase a fentanyl test strip—a small sum, until you consider that she's buying them by the hundreds.

Since the fall of 2016, Tilley has been paying for these strips out of pocket and distributing them for free to drug users in western Massachusetts. It's a costly exercise, but it fits in perfectly with Tilley's mission as the founder of the New England User's Union: "We wanted to come together to advocate for all drug users."

They aren't the type of calls that Iqbal Sunderani thought he would ever get. Parents who have lost their children to fentanyl overdoses ring up his biotechnology company on a regular basis.

They say they are desperate to get their hands on drug testing strips that can detect the powerful opioid, which could prevent other families from suffering the same loss.

"It's heartbreaking to hear the stories, I am a parent myself, " said Sunderani, CEO of BTNX, which is based in Markham, Ont.

At the overdose prevention site in Moss Park, harm reduction workers will soon have another tool to help drug users avoid fatal overdoses — test strips able to detect the presence of fentanyl.

While many drug users may still take fentanyl-laced products, even after a positive test, there's hope that knowing that the powerful opioid is mixed in with their drugs may prompt them to use more cautiously, or at one of two supervised injection sites now operating in the city.

Vancouver Coastal Health began offering Insite clients fentanyl test strips in July, giving them the opportunity to find out, within a minute, whether there is fentanyl in the drug they are about to inject. Clients mix a small sample with water in a cooker then dip the test strip into the solution; one line means it contains fentanyl, two lines means it does not.

Since then, about a dozen groups – including a pharmacy in Winnipeg, a physician in Calgary and a harm-reduction organization in New York – have contacted Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) and the test's manufacturer, Ontario-based BTNX Inc., wanting to learn more and offer the affordable and easy-to-use tests themselves.

Health experts are turning to a cheap drug test strip kit from a Toronto suburb as a tool to curb soaring overdose rates linked to fentanyl.

In July, Vancouver's safe injection site Insite became the first to offer free voluntary tests for clients to determine whether their supply of heroin or other drugs contained the deadly opioid. Though the kits were originally designed for doctors to test urine samples, Insite workers discovered they could be used by testing drugs diluted in water. Like a pregnancy test, the results are available within minutes. One line on the test strip means fentanyl is present, two lines means it's not.

BTNX Inc. was the proud sponsor of Project 5K’s Project Lunch Bag for its second consecutive year. The goal of the project was to provide bagged lunches to the homeless in downtown Toronto. This generous initiative was run by a group of student volunteers, which distributed lunches to those in need during the Thanksgiving weekend. In addition to this thoughtful undertaking, the volunteers also wrote motivational messages, which were placed into each lunch bag to help lift the spirits of those they met.

The project proved very successful providing 250 bagged lunches to the homeless that day. We are very proud to have sponsored Project 5K and thank the volunteers who worked hard to kindly help those in need.

BTNX Inc. is proud to announce the efforts of our co-op student, Newton Zheng, in his fundraising initiative to build homes in the Dominican Republic. Donations will be provided to SJMF, a local charity dedicated to creating sustainable communities within the Ocoa region and to establish long lasting relationships between North Americans and Dominicans.

Given our presence in the Dominican Republic to support service in Latin American this initiative hits home. We hope you will join us in our pledge to improve the living conditions for Dominican families in need.

If you are interested in donating, please e-mail hsunderani@btnx.com.

The Premier Health Alliance is a network that brings together healthcare facilities and suppliers. To ensuring that healthcare facilities are supplied with high quality products, Premier suppliers must meet rigorous standards. Aligning our goals, BTNX and Premier are committed to delivering value for its customers.

BTNX focuses on providing its distributors with the highest quality products at competitive pricing. This is accomplished by building strategic alliances with the most advanced innovative manufacturing facilities, combined with a high caliber team of professionals. BTNX has developed an extremely efficient product development and sourcing infrastructure that is able to deliver real value to its customers.