![]() ![]() ![]() By midday on August 15, a total of 25 suspected outbreak-related ED visits had been identified by 5:00 p.m. Initial keywords included terms for SCs (e.g., “K2,” “spice,” or “weed”) and later refined to include terms for location (e.g., “green,” “bench,” or “park”). ![]() The syndrome definition was derived from keywords in the chief complaint, selected in an iterative process from terms in media reports and ED visit record reviews. Within 20 minutes of receiving the first media report, CTDPH developed an ad hoc syndrome definition to identify ED visits for suspected SC overdoses by querying EpiCenter. Using Health Level Seven messaging,* EDs transfer visit data (e.g., patient sex, age, ZIP Code of residence, chief complaint, and triage notes) to EpiCenter upon patient registration and discharge in near real-time (i.e., <5 minutes). Since January 2018, CTDPH syndromic surveillance system has collected data on ED visits from all 38 EDs in Connecticut by using the EpiCenter system (Health Monitoring Systems, Inc.). CTDPH monitored syndromic surveillance data from emergency department (ED) visit records to identify the magnitude of the SC overdose outbreak and provide situational awareness during the outbreak to state and local health departments. Syndromic surveillance data collected in near real-time have been used to track outbreaks of illness and to improve public health authorities’ situational awareness about trends in suspected drug overdoses ( 2). Prevalence of acute SC poisonings has increased in the United States in recent years ( 1). It said major causes of the increase in deaths are the growing number of people using opioids and the increased potency of the drugs themselves.On the morning of August 15, 2018, the Connecticut Department of Public Health (CTDPH) learned from media reports about multiple persons found unresponsive in a city park in New Haven County after using synthetic cannabinoids (SCs), manmade psychoactive substances that can cause unpredictable and sometimes severe health effects. The CDC said a record 72,000 Americans died last year because of drug overdose - about 10 percent higher than previous figures. The latest incident in Connecticut comes as new preliminary estimates on 2017 overdose deaths were released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ![]() No deaths were reported in either outbreak." The city also saw more than a dozen synthetic marijuana overdoses in late January. The AP notes, "New Haven first responders were called to a similar overdose outbreak on the Green on July 4, when more than a dozen people were sick from synthetic marijuana. "The substance behind these overdoses is highly dangerous and must be avoided." "Today's emergency is deeply troubling and illustrative of the very real and serious threat that illicit street drugs pose to health of individuals," Malloy said, according to the Hartford Courant. Dannel Malloy said Wednesday that the state Department of Public Health and the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services were assisting New Haven with the rash of overdoses. WVIT reports that the man arrested "is believed connected to at least some of the overdoses" and "had drugs on him at the time of his arrest, has yet to be charged in any of the overdose cases." Officer David Hartman was quoted by the newspaper as saying the patients were being treated for overdose-related respiratory illnesses. The Hartford Courant said authorities had determined that patients had smoked the synthetic cannabinoid K-2 laced with fentanyl. ![]()
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