Cincinnati sees estimated 78 heroin overdoses in 2 days

Naloxone, used to treat morphine and heroin overdoses, allowed a 39-year-old woman to feel pain for the first time in her life. (AP Photo/Mel Evans,file)

CINCINNATI – Police in Cincinnati are asking for the public's help in finding the source of the suspected heroin behind an estimated 78 overdoses in two days this week.

Authorities believe the same batch is linked to three recent deaths.

They say there were an estimated 78 overdoses on Tuesday and Wednesday and 174 overdoses in emergency rooms within the past week. Local officials are calling it a public health emergency.

They suspect a drug used to sedate elephants that is 100 times as potent as fentanyl (FEHN'-tuh-nihl) could be behind the surge in overdoses.

County leaders say they'll seek funding for treatment that would come with expanded response teams.

The state reported Thursday that accidental drug overdoses killed an average of eight people per day in Ohio last year.