STREET DRUGS TAINTED; 5 IN CAMDEN HOSPITAL

Five men who ingested illegal drugs in Camden in the last three days
have been hospitalized with raging fevers and other dangerous
symptoms, the result of additives, authorities said. Michael Chansky,
director of emergency medicine at Cooper Hospital-University Medical
Center, said yesterday that he feared an epidemic, even though no
other cases have surfaced.

Whatever was mixed in with the drugs -- heroin and cocaine in the case of
the five hospitalized men --
"severely impedes" the ability to sweat, which can be especially
deadly during a heat wave, Chansky said. The additives were having
other bad effects as well, he said.

Two of the men taken to Cooper had 108-degree fevers and were admitted to
the intensive care unit. Two of the others were running fevers of 105,
Chansky said. Officials at
Cooper were checking with the Camden County Health Department and
other agencies to learn whether there have been other such cases.

As of yesterday, no additional cases had been reported at other
hospitals in the Camden area or in Philadelphia. Additives or cutting
agents are routinely used by drug dealers to boost their profits.

Pure heroin and cocaine cannot be used because of their potency. In
the spring of 1995, more than 100 area people were hospitalized after
they took drugs with dangerous additives.