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Dozens of Missouri, Kansas toddlers have died of fentanyl overdoses

October 17, 2023

In Kansas City, and across both Missouri and Kansas, dozens of young children have died from the illicit drug fentanyl in the past three years, The Kansas City Star has found in an ongoing investigation into the toll this drug has taken in these Midwest communities.

The babies and toddlers—ages 4 and under—ingested the synthetic opioid and its residue in their homes, inside hotel rooms, and even at a city park.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. It is a major contributor to fatal and nonfatal overdoses in the U.S. (CDC, 2023).

Pharmaceutical fentanyl and illegally made fentanyl are both considered synthetic opioids. Most recent cases of fentanyl-related overdose are linked to illegally made fentanyl, which is distributed through illegal drug markets for its heroin-like effect. It's often added to other drugs because of its extreme potency, which makes drugs cheaper, more powerful, more addictive, and more dangerous. (CDC, 2023)

Counterfeit pills, which resemble prescription medications but actually contain fentanyl, have been surfacing more and more in the illicit drug market.

In 2022, seven children in Jackson County, Missouri ages 2 and under died from fentanyl— three of them within one week last spring, according to records obtained by The Kansas City Star. One child who died of fentanyl intoxication last year was a 10-month-old baby. The remaining six were toddlers ages 1 to 2.

Across the state line in Kansas three years ago, another toddler, age 2, died in Johnson County and a 9-month old died in Leavenworth County of fentanyl intoxication.

After a child dies, it's difficult for medical professionals to determine how the fentanyl got into the body. “Once it gets in the system, in the blood, it looks the same if they snorted it or ingested it,” said Dr. Lindsey Haldiman, Jackson County Missouri’s chief medical examiner. “There’s just no way to tell.”

In 2022, preliminary DSS reports show that 20 children under 5 years of age died from fentanyl poisoning in Missouri—double the number from 2021. A child abuse pediatrician at Children's Mercy Hospital Kansas expects that it will be even higher in 2023. (Bauer and Thomas, 2023)

In addition to the nation's heartland, fentanyl has been increasingly responsible for the deaths of adolescents and children across the nation. A surge that began in 2018 has led to a nearly 3-fold increase in deaths among older adolescents and a nearly 6-fold increase among children younger than 5 years, according to a study authored by Julie Gaither, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Yale School of Medicine. In 2021, fentanyl was responsible for the deaths of 40 infants and 93 children aged 1 to 4 years. (Gaither, 2023)

Last month, in New York, a toddler died after he and three other young children were sickened by what officials said was exposure to fentanyl at their Bronx day care center. One-year-old Nicholas Dominici had spent only a few days at the Divino Niño day care center when he died on Sept. 15. The other three children, ranging in age from 8 months to 2 years old, were administered Narcan and treated for what authorities said was fentanyl exposure. (Tanyos, 2023)

Investigators said a kilogram of fentanyl was found in a closet in the day care center and more than 5 kilograms of fentanyl, heroin, and other controlled substances were found under a trap door in the floor beneath a padded mat where children napped. (Tanyos, 2023)

Sources:

Bauer, L and Thomas, J. (2023, October 12). The Kansas City Star. Deadly Dose. Fentanyl's littlest victims: Dozens of babies, toddlers die in Missouri and Kansas. https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article279793604.html

Tanyos, F. (2023, September 29). CBS News. Toddler's death at New York City day care caused by fentanyl overdose, autopsy finds. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fentanyl-overdose-toddler-death-bronx-new-york-city-day-care-autopsy-nicholas-dominici/

CDC. Fentanyl Facts. (Last reviewed 2023, September 6). National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Drug Overdose Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/stopoverdose/fentanyl/index.html

Gaither, J. (2023, July 1). JAMA Pediatr. National Trends in Pediatric Deaths From Fentanyl, 1999-2021. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37155161/