An infant in Winnipeg who police believe may have been in contact with fentanyl, a deadly drug that has sparked an overdose crisis in British Columbia and Alberta and only recently showed up in Manitoba’s capital, is in stable condition in hospital.
An infant in Winnipeg who police believe may have been in contact with fentanyl, a deadly drug that has sparked an overdose crisis in British Columbia and Alberta and only recently showed up in Manitoba's capital, is in stable condition in hospital.
Adults "connected" to the baby, who is less than 18 months old, were home when police responded to a 911 call at about 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, according to Constable Robert Carver with the Winnipeg Police Service. No other children were in the home.
Constable Carver would not confirm the adults' relationship to the baby. "The infant wasn't with strangers," he said on Friday.
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Officers have not identified the baby's gender.
The baby's prognosis is positive, Constable Carver said. Police will not confirm whether emergency responders administered naloxone, a life-saving antidote, to the infant. At the time of the call, the baby was in critical condition.
Officers have not laid any charges in the Winnipeg case, but the investigation is ongoing. Police sent samples from the home of what they believe to be fentanyl to Health Canada for confirmation.
"The nature of the investigation will hinge on those results," Constable Carver said. "If there are potential charges, the types of charges would hinge on those results."
Investigators have asked Health Canada to expedite the results. "We won't know until probably early next week," Constable Carver said. He does not believe anyone has been detained in connection with the incident.
Prescription-grade fentanyl is roughly 100 times stronger than morphine and was developed as a painkiller. It is extremely lethal; a dose equal to the weight of two grains of salt can kill an adult.
Illicit use of the drug has created a nationwide crisis. Overdoses in B.C. and Alberta killed 418 people in 2015, up tenfold over three years. In Manitoba, 29 deaths were tied to fentanyl in 2015.
Health Canada approved the sale of intranasal naloxone on Oct. 3, giving more people access to emergency kits.
In British Columbia, for example, intranasal and injectable naloxone are now available without a prescription.
The Winnipeg Police Service intends to start carrying naloxone in response to the wave of overdoses hitting the city and the risk that responders face when they encounter the substance.
Winnipeg did not see a serious fentanyl problem on its streets until this summer, Constable Carver said. Since then, however, its damage has spiked in Manitoba's largest city. "There are risks here that we've never seen before as a community, certainly highlighted" by the infant's admission to hospital, the policeman said.
While Winnipeg police are releasing few details about the baby's medical condition, they went public with the incident to reinforce the dangers associated with fentanyl.
"That's probably everybody's worst fear – that an innocent bystander is going to be somehow threatened by this drug in our community," Constable Carver said.
"It is terrible when anyone is overdosing on this … but what I don't think was hitting home and why I think we wanted to talk about this [is because] it goes beyond people who are using the drug, potentially. It goes to those who might be near them. And those might be children or vulnerable individuals."
The danger extends to police and first responders. In this week's incident, Winnipeg police deployed members of its clandestine lab team who work in hazmat suits and are trained to work in hazardous environments. Officers do not believe that the residence is a clandestine lab. Indeed, China is a major supplier of illegal fentanyl.
Investigators are not yet releasing the reason they suspect that the baby came into contact with fentanyl, except to say, in general, context clues help officers identify where substances such aslike fentanyl, cocaine or any other drug may be present.
Police would not say whether officers found pills or powder in the home.
Carrie Tait