Ky. authorities: 12 overdose on 'potent heroin'

Authorities in Montgomery County, Ky. are investigating after more than 10 overdoses on heroin were reported in a five-hour span Wednesday night.

Officials were looking at 12 overdoses that occurred Wednesday night from an apparent "very potent form of heroin," according to social media posts from the Mt. Sterling Police Department and the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.

They directed drug users to the Facebook page for the Montgomery County Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Team, which offers hotlines and treatment options in the county.

"If you are a heroin addict be aware of this before using," the posts wrote. "Naturally, we would prefer you seek treatment as opposed to using but are also realistic enough to know that not all will."

Both departments did not respond to requests for more information on Thursday.

It was not immediately clear whether the Wednesday incident is connected to a string of more than 75 overdoses on a super-charged form of heroin in Ohio and Indiana since last Friday.

Cincinnati saw a spike in overdoses over the weekend when the Hamilton County Heroin Coalition reported more than 30 overdoses Monday, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. Since Tuesday, 33 more people have overdosed in Cincinnati, including one fatal overdose.

In Jennings County, Ind., officials responded to 14 overdoses -- one fatal -- late Tuesday and early Wednesday, according to the Jennings County Sheriff's Department and Seymour Police. Authorities administered naloxone to all but one of the patients. Five people were arrested and charged with drug-related crimes.

Law enforcement officials in both states said they believed the heroin was laced with fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid painkiller used to treat patients recovering post-surgery. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, fentanyl is 50 times more powerful than heroin.

A similar cluster of overdoses occurred Aug. 15 in Huntington, W. Va., where 27 people overdosed within five hours, one fatally, according to STAT. The number of calls exhausted emergency service resources, according to officials.

Authorities said a batch of heroin, which potentially contained something stronger, was responsible for the overdoses. Emergency medical personnel had to administer naloxone three times to one person.

According to the USA TODAY, drug overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death in the United States. Between 2002 and 2013, the rate of heroin-related deaths nearly quadrupled, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In 2014, West Virginia had the highest rate of overdose deaths in the nation at 35.5 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the CDC.

Ohio's rate was the fifth highest at 24.6 deaths, and Kentucky, which borders Ohio and Indiana, was the fourth highest at 24.7 deaths. Indiana was ranked 16th at 18.2 deaths per 100,000.

Reporter Justin Sayers can be reached at 502-582-4252 or jsayers@gannett.com.