A zookeeper at Zoo Miami fell ill after helping immobilize a greater kudu antelope. Zoo officials say skin exposure to the opioid medication through saliva could have caused the staffer’s illness.
The greater kudu antelope was given the synthetic opioid thiafentanil so it could be prepared for transfer to another facility on Friday. The staffer who fell ill was holding the animal’s head as part of the immobilization procedure, the zoo said on social media.
The zoo did not name the staffer or specify the symptoms, saying that “out of an abundance of caution and given the potential for inadvertent dermal exposure to the drug through contact with the animal’s saliva, the employee was administered Narcan” before being hospitalized for evaluation.
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The Food and Drug Administration says on its website that thiafentanil is meant only for immobilizing hooved animals, such as the greater kudu antelope, that won’t be eaten by people.
The FDA also says accidental human exposure to thiafentanil can cause “dizziness, nausea, and constriction of pupils (pinpoint) followed by respiratory depression, lowered blood pressure, cyanosis and, in extreme cases, loss of consciousness and cardiac arrest.”
The zoo said its employee was in stable condition.
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