A recent spate of overdoses believed to be associated with carfentanil has staff at Ottawa Inner City Health's Supervised Injection Site on edge.
Executive Director of Ottawa Inner City Health Wendy Muckle said roughly eight clients within the last 24 hours have experienced overdoses consistent with carfentanil. The drug is 100 times as potent as the same amount of fentanyl and has severe neurological effects.
The clients, Muckle said, thought they were using heroin or speed. It's believed those drugs were laced with carfentanil.
"They stop breathing right away, immediately turn blue and then begin to seize," Muckle said.
The clients responded to Naloxone, but some required three or four doses.
The presence of carfentanil has not been laboratory confirmed but Muckle said the side effects were consistent with previous incidents involving carfentanil.
"We have seen this before," she said. "We saw it for sure in August, and at the end of November."
Ottawa Public Health is aware of the cluster of suspected cases and has shared the information with members of the Ottawa Overdose Prevention and Response Task Force, which includes local hospitals, emergency services and community health care partners.
"OPH continues to monitor, collaborate and communicate with partner agencies about observed increases in complications or unusual findings related to overdoses," said Ottawa Public Health Spokesperson Donna Casey in a statement.
OPH's supervised injection site at 179 Clarence has not seen any instances similar to the recent suspected carfentanil overdoses at Ottawa Inner City Health's supervised injection site.
WARNING - increase in overdoses in past 12 hours. Believed to be from speed pills (white in color) and brown heroin, causing severe opioid overdose symptoms requiring 3-4 doses of naloxone. #ottnews pic.twitter.com/itUkH7qP2f
— OPO (@odpreventionott) January 31, 2018