A pair of infants out of Arizona have officially tested positive for fentanyl exposure within this past week as the near-fatal opioid continues to surge across the still uncontained Southern Border.
Police officials for Phoenix discovered one infant Wednesday morning that had been exposed to fentanyl. officers treated the baby, and as of writing the child is expected to survive the ordeal, as reported by Fox News.
This particular incident marks the second case for the department in under a week after another group of officers saved the baby’s life by administering a dose of Narcan in the wake of suspicion of exposure to the deadly opioid.
“When they arrived, they located a family with a young infant that appeared lethargic with shallow breathing,” expressed a spokesperson for the police to the outlet. “The infant was treated with Narcan on scene and was taken to the hospital for medical treatment. The infant is expected to survive.”
The results of blood tests would later unveil that the child tested positive for fentanyl.
Police stated that detectives working with the Crimes Against Children unit officially stepped in to take over the investigation.
“A search warrant was obtained for the parents’ apartment where evidence of fentanyl was located,” stated police in a release. “Currently, there are no arrests however, the investigation remains active.”
A warning from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) expressed that many people think they are just buying heroin and actually do not know that they are buying fentanyl instead — which often ends in an overdose for the user.
“Clandestinely-produced fentanyl is primarily manufactured in Mexico,” explained DEA officials to Fox News.
Back in August, officials with the DEA put forth a public formal warning concerning the rapid rise of candy-colored “rainbow fentanyl.”
The drug Fentanyl is one of the most potent synthetic opioids on the market; sporting a potency that is almost 50 times more potent than heroin and over 100 times stronger than morphine. Due to this, a lethal dose of the substance is just a mere two milligrams, which equates to about 10-15 grains of table salt.
A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expressed that fentanyl could be absorbed into the body via inhalation, oral exposure or ingestion, or even direct skin contact — expressing that the inhalation of fentanyl resulted in rapid absorption.
It is entirely impossible to tell just how much fentanyl is in any particular pill or powder. However, the claims made that the various colors indicate the level of potency, the DEA reported that their lab results showed that there was no correlation.
