Hennepin County Sheriff Gets Replacement Naloxone Dispensers

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota sheriff's office says it has received working replacements for a device that dispenses a drug that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.

Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek expressed recent concern about a recalled device that turns the injectable form of naloxone into a mist that's sprayed into the nose. Stanek had asked Teleflex Medical to replace the devices, but said he kept getting defective batches.

Stanek's office says Wednesday that it has now received atomizers that weren't part of the recall. Officials randomly tested them to ensure they work.

No one died as a result of the defective devices in Hennepin County. But the issue concerned Stanek — his county had 106 opioid-related overdose deaths through October, a 25 percent increase over the same period in 2015.