Kane County Heroin Deaths On the Rise

With heroin deaths on the rise in Kane County, local officials will soon receive a new refill on Narcan, an opioid overdose antidote drug.

Coroner Rob Russell said his staff has performed more autopsies in May and June than any in recent memory, the Daily Herald reports. Kane County confirmed 19 heroin deaths since December.

"We've had a record-setting heroin death year so far," Russell said in the article. "And the totals I'm talking about don't include some we're still awaiting toxicology results. So there will be more. And those totals don't include the synthetic fentanyl deaths that we're also seeing come onto the scene."

Preliminary consent was given by members of the county board's public health committee to purchase 2,300 additional doses of Narcan, the Daily Herald reports. The drug will soon make its way to 27 police departments and three local colleges. So far, 36 lives have been saved in the 20 months of having the drug at their use.

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