Easy-To-Use Test Strips To Detect Powerful Fentanyl Becomes Latest Weapon To Fight Opioid Crisis
Fentanyl’s recent arrival in California is raising alarms across the state because of how powerful it is. The synthetic drug is 30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin, making the overdose risk extremely high.
KQED:
San Francisco's Newest Tool To Prevent Opioid Overdoses Tests Drugs, Starts Conversations
While California has made some positive strides in the fight against opioids (the latest data show that prescriptions in the state are down), deaths from one particularly powerful opioid, fentanyl, are up. As this opioid increasingly shows up in street drugs, California is fighting back with a new tool: easy-to-use test strips that can detect the presence of fentanyl in other drugs or substances. (Klivans, 4/18)
In other public health news —
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
Flu Update: Six More Deaths As Higher-Than-Average Caseloads Continue
The county added six more flu-related deaths to the season total Wednesday as the number of confirmed cases continued to run higher than it has in recent years. The latest weekly flu report lists 175 flu cases last week, more than twice the 70 cases averaged during the second week of April over the last three years. Among the six deaths announced Wednesday, only one — an 81-year-old man from East County who died on April 12 — occurred last week. Three of the remaining five tracked back to January when the flu was spreading so quickly that it inundated many local hospitals and emergency departments. All six deaths reported this week were among residents age 81 or older. (Sisson, 4/18)
Los Angeles Times:
California Opens Investigation Into Tesla Factory's Safety Conditions
California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health said Wednesday it has opened an investigation of working conditions at Tesla's factory in Fremont, Calif., where the company is struggling to boost production of its troubled Model 3 electric sedan before it starts running out of cash. (Mitchell, 4/18)