Pittsburgh health officials announced on Monday that a fatal bundle of heroin caused more than 17 overdose deaths in the past seven days.
According to the city's mayor William Peduto, this deadly batch has been named "Theraflu."
"It is absolutely critical - especially those who have loved ones who are in recovery, or those that are addicted - to make sure they know that if they have that bag, and it is stamped with 'Theraflu' to get rid of it," Peduto told CBS's local station in Pittsburgh. "It will kill you."
Theraflu is considerably more dangerous than other batches of heroin due to a strong painkiller called Fentanyl, which is almost 100 times more potent than morphine. According to Allegheny County Medical Examiner Dr. Karl Williams, who spoke to reporters from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette this past weekend, the deaths have created a "major public health crisis."
The National Institute on Drug Abuse told CBS that Fentanyl, a synthetic opiate, is usually used for patients who have intense pain after surgery. But when mixed with drugs sold on the street such as cocaine and heroin, the potency of Fentanyl spikes to dangerous levels.
At least four residents of the Pittsburgh area were pronounced dead in the course of 24 hours, according to medical officials.
"When you get four [overdoses] in one day, three in another day, you've got a marked increase," Williams told CBS. "That's associated with some change in the pattern of what drugs people are getting. A lot of people that think that they're getting heroin may be getting something that is 10 to 100 times more potent than heroin."