New strain of fentanyl claims at least 3 lives

Westmoreland County officials said a new designer opioid is taking lives.

A new strain of fentanyl -- never seen in this county before -- popped up last month. The coroner says "buytryl fentanyl" was responsible for the overdose deaths of 3 people, all within days of each other.

"The average they see in fentanyl deaths is eight nanograms per milliliter, the ones in front of me one is 17, we've had up to 130 nanograms - that would kill six horses,” Coroner Kenneth Bacha said.

Law enforcement and the DEA are working tirelessly trying to identify and combat the epidemic, but it's a big challenge to keep up with all the new combinations and strains of drugs.

"Now it's not even heroin we're seeing, we're seeing pure, straight fentanyl, and we're getting into these different derivatives of fentanyl. It’s constantly changing signs,” Bacha said.

The overdose deaths on record for 2016 so far have surpassed years prior. The coroner said it costs nearly $3,000 for every overdose. With 172 recorded overdoses last year, the cost tops more than $500,000.

Cox Media Group