Health District warns of spike in fentanyl deaths around Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Public health officials are warning about a new spike in deaths related to fentanyl overdoses around Las Vegas.
The Southern Nevada Health District says police reported five suspected fentanyl-related overdose deaths in Clark County during a 24-hour period on Thursday, Aug. 12.
There were 92 deaths among Clark County residents between January and May this year, according to SNHD, up by 39% compared to the same period in 2020 when 66 deaths were reported.
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"It is important that Southern Nevadans are aware of the continued public health risk that fentanyl poses in our community," Dr. Fermin Leguen, the district health officer for SNHD, said in a press release. "We continue to see the toll fentanyl takes. It can be fatal and it can be found in other drugs as well."
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid considered highly potent, with health officials describing it as 80 to 100 times stronger than morphine.
It can be mixed with other narcotics or pressed into pills to be sold on the street as Oxycodone, Xanax or Percocet.
The Health District recommends that anyone at risk for an opioid overdose or anyone who could help a person at risk carry naloxone, also known as Narcan, which can be used to reverse an overdose.
