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Delaware Issues Warning After Two Heroin Overdose Deaths

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NEW CASTLE, Del. (AP) - A Delaware health official is warning people who use drugs that two people have died from suspected overdoses in a 24-hour period involving heroin packets with the same stamp.

Department of Health and Social Services Secretary Kara Walker issued the warning on Monday.

The department says it's not identifying the stamp so people will not seek out the drug.

Walker is urging anyone who is an active drug user to seek treatment immediately. She's urging drug users who continue to use substances to carry the overdose-reversing medication naloxone with them.

There have been 106 suspected overdose deaths in Delaware through May 27 of this year, including three since Friday.

Overdose deaths continue to rise in the state. In 2017, 345 people died from overdoses, a 12 percent increase from 2016.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.