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ASHLAND A new strain of deadly fentanyl could have the power to resist an overdose-reversing drug, and overworked first responders are worried more potent opioids might be charging toward northeastern Kentucky.
Acrylfentanyl, a new fentanyl analogue, was found at the scenes of two fatal overdoses in western Pennsylvania over the past six months. Fentanyl and related opioids laced with heroin ripped through Appalachia, leading to outbreaks of overdoses and misery.
Special Agent Patrick Trainor of the Drug Enforcement Agency told CNHI News, the parent company of The Daily Independent, acrylfentanyl “has shown some possibility of being resistant” to naloxone, a.k.a. Narcan, the life-saving drug used to revive overdose victims.
Trainor said synthetic opioids are often produced in China, and DEA officials aren’t ready to declare the drug absolutely Narcan resistant, based on its novelty. But Boyd County first responders, who’ve already been forced to increase doses of Narcan to a rising number of overdose patients in recent months, believe stronger opioids are bound for the region.
“The month of April was our busiest month for overdoses, and we did see a number of patients that required large amounts of Narcan. Sometimes up to four times the number of a usual dose,” said Tom Adams, Boyd EMS director.
Boyd EMS used Narcan on 39 patients in a three-week stretch in April, and treated 76 patients with Narcan in the first three months of 2017, Adams said. In those three weeks, two patients died in the presence of EMS, Adams said. “I don’t know how many died after we left the hospital.”
An already increasing potency of fentanyl found in heroin overdose cases has not only stressed local small emergency worker staffs, but department budgets. Adams said each shot of Narcan costs about $60 to $75. In April alone, EMS spent $3,200 on Narcan, Adams said.
“Two years ago, our Narcan budget was running at about $1,800 to $2,000 a year,” he said. “At this pace, we’re probably looking at $30,000 to $38,000 in 2017.”
Boyd Coroner Mark Hammond, who has already responded to 14 overdose deaths this year as of last week, said he’s afraid Narcan-proof opioid strains are “inevitable.”
“We’re going to get it, I think it’s inevitable. They are going to start making a strain that Narcan’s not going to be able to touch,” said the coroner.
Narcan pumps life back into human beings by blocking the effects of overdoses. When a heroin overdose happens, the person become unconscious and their body literally forgets how to breathe. The heart rate slows and blood pressure plummets, leading to failure or attack of the heart. If Narcan or emergency responders aren’t nearby, death is usually the endgame.
Yet, drug makers and dealers don’t seem too concerned about killing off their clientele. Boyd Sheriff Bobby Jack Woods said the threat of pushing a deadly product that could withstand Narcan won’t stop stop heroin producers from trying to create “the next best” high.
“Why would they want to kill a customer who is buying from them? I hate to use the word, but to them, it’s about entrepreneurship,” said Woods. “They’re always looking for the next best thing to get out and front with so they can make more money.”
The Boyd Sheriff’s Department, Ashland Police Department and other local agencies are working together to fight the heroin epidemic, and a recent resurgence in crystal meth. They work leads, execute undercover buys and try to stop the pipeline of deadly drugs flowing into the region, often from Michigan.
The goal is to prevent deadly heroin from ever reaching the hands of northeastern Kentuckians, and, effectively, keep as much Narcan on the shelves as possible. First responders are already working around the clock to battle the scourge to accomplish that goal.
But first responders will be even more overstretched if a new strain of fentanyl potent enough to resist Narcan is truly on the horizon in northeastern Kentucky.
“And once that happens,” said the coroner, “you will see the deaths skyrocket.”
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