Investigators believe a 10-year-old Miami boy may have overdosed and died after inadvertently coming into contact with the extremely potent synthetic opioid fentanyl, according to the Miami Herald.
Fentanyl, which is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, is frequently cut with heroin and has been linked to a growing number of overdose deaths across the nation. The substance and its synthetic analogs — which can be even more powerful — are so potent that simply touching or inhaling a miniscule amount may spur an overdose.
Alton Banks began vomiting June 23 after returning home from a trip to the local pool in his Overtown neighborhood, a hub for heroin and fentanyl distribution. Paramedics were called after he was found unconscious later that evening, and the fifth grader was pronounced dead at Miami-based Jackson Memorial Hospital. Preliminary toxicology tests indicated the child had fentanyl and heroin in his system, according to The Washington Post. Investigators found no evidence to suggest drug exposure occurred in the home.
"He was out playing, like we want all our children to do. It's unclear whether [the opioid exposure] was at the pool or on the walk home," said Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, according to the Herald. "We're anxiously hoping that someone comes forward to help us solve this horrific death."
There were more than 300 overdose deaths in Miami-Dade County involving fentanyl or its analogs in 2016, according to data from the county's medical examiner's office cited by the Miami Herald.
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