Public health officials in Louisville are warning of a spike in heroin overdoses in the city.
According to WDRB-TV, officials at Norton Hospital say there were at least 24 confirmed overdose cases in Louisville on Tuesday.
Dr. Robert Couch, an emergency physician at Norton, said at a news conference that he saw eight overdose patients within five hours.
He calls it a “public health emergency,” saying the heroin on the street seems to be unusually potent. He says patients taking what would usually be a small amount are losing consciousness.
Couch says larger doses of naloxone, a widely available overdose antidote that many first responders carry, are needed to reverse the drug’s effect.
The announcement comes after recent overdose spikes in communities in the neighboring states of Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia.