Early identification of the use of potent benzylbenzimidazoles (nitazenes) through wastewater analysis: Two years of data from 22 countries
A very high mass load of protonitazene was calculated, using wastewater analysis, for the day of 30 December 2023 in one site in Australia. Etonitazepyne showed the same trend from a lower base. Wastewater-based nitazene surveillance shows promise as a form of both drug early warning and ongoing monitoring of trends in use, especially as a complementary tool to existing surveillance methods.
Authors
- Jennifer Schumann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8870-6272)
- Richard Bade (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2724-9183)
- Jared A Brown (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6855-3865)
- Wayne Hall (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1984-0096)
- Dhayaalini Nadarajan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3572-3121)
Institutions
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- New South Wales Department of Health (AU)
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- Frankston Hospital (AU)
- Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (AU)
- Monash University (AU)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Addiction
- Published
- 2025-03-18
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70027
- Citations
- 14
- Primary Topic
- Forensic Toxicology and Drug Analysis
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 18.30
Funders
- Queensland Health
- University of Queensland
- Australian Research Council