#J#: US MI: DEATHS TIED TO FENTANYL DROPPING

Officials still on alert, although no casualties linked to drug
cocktail reported on Tuesday.

The daily toll of deaths linked to the powerful painkiller fentanyl
has fallen in recent days, with no new deaths on Tuesday, officials said.

It was the first day since authorities began sounding a public alarm
about illegal drugs containing fentanyl almost two weeks ago that no
new casualties were reported.

"We're certainly breathing a little easier, but to actually say that
the tide has been stemmed and we're not expecting any more deaths, I
don't know that we can say that," said Dr. Michele Reid, medical
director of the Detroit-Wayne County Community Mental Health Agency.

Officials suspect the mixture of fentanyl with heroin or cocaine
caused three deaths each on Saturday and Sunday, and one death
Monday. The week before, the county averaged more than four suspect
deaths a day. Officials can't conclusively link the deaths to
fentanyl until toxicology tests are completed.

Fentanyl is believed to be responsible for 48 deaths in Wayne County
in less than two weeks. Other counties in southeast Michigan have
reported a handful of deaths thought to be caused by the drugs.