Fentanyl Found in Gulf Dolphins: Threat of Pharmaceutical Pollution

Researchers from Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi, Texas, USA, have discovered alarming levels of the powerful opioid fentanyl in common bottlenose dolphins living in the Gulf of Mexico. The investigation began in September 2020 when the team found a deceased dolphin during a routine inspection. Upon analyzing the dolphin's fat in their lab, they uncovered traces of fentanyl. Bottlenose dolphins are often used as bioindicators of ecosystem health due to their fat's ability to store pollutants.

This discovery prompted a study into the prevalence of pharmaceutical pollutants in the Gulf of Mexico's marine ecosystem. The researchers collected fat samples from 83 live dolphins and six deceased ones from Redfish Bay, Laguna Madre, and the Mississippi Strait. After careful analysis, drugs were detected in 30 of the samples.

Specifically, fentanyl, an opioid painkiller 100 times more potent than morphine, was identified in 18 live dolphins and in all samples from deceased dolphins. Other dolphins tested positive for the muscle relaxant carisoprodol and the anti-anxiety drug meprobamate.

While it's not yet clear how these drugs are entering the dolphins' systems, one theory suggests they may originate from wastewater. The drugs may then enter the dolphins' bodies through their prey, which includes fish and shrimp also consumed by humans.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) notes that synthetic opioids like fentanyl are the leading cause of overdose deaths in the country, highlighting the severity of this pharmaceutical pollution.