Larry Langford, a spokesman for the Chicago Fire Department, confirmed that at least 18 people overdosed within the last 20 hours beginning Wednesday evening, but he couldn’t say what drug was to blame.
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Police suspect they ingested heroin laced with the painkiller fentanyl.
Chicago police and federal agents launched an investigation into the cause of a spike in heroin overdoses this week on the city’s West Side.
The Chicago Fire Department said paramedics saw heroin overdoses skyrocket this week.
A sample of the heroin recovered by Chicago police may have been laced with fentanyl, authorities said.
According to Chicago officials, the number of heroin overdoses is steadily rising in the state.
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Hospitals are supplying paramedics with extra doses of Narcan, a heroin antidote, due to the strength of the current batch. However, the standard single dose treatment of Narcan is not having effect on the patients. “There’s no ordinary, though when we have now each of that sort, it alarm systems people”, said Velez. “But we’re noticing we were giving more in the emergency department to these patients”, Dr. Hedayati explained.
