The B.C. government is warning the public about tainted cocaine after 10 people fell seriously ill.
Officials say that over the last few months, the users in Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island have suffered from suppressed bone marrow and an abnormally low level of a white blood cell that fights infections.
In that state, they say minor infections can be fatal if not quickly treated.
Cocaine is sometimes cut with an antibiotic used to treat worms in animals in order to increase its volume and increase profits.
Officials say a person's immune system can become severely suppressed by taking cocaine contaminated with the antibiotic.
Five people in Alberta have fallen ill from the same thing since July and similar cases have been reported in the U.S. and Europe.
