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Ohio Prison Guards, Inmates Treated For Possible Drug Exposure

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CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (AP) - Officials say more than 20 people at an Ohio prison have been treated for possible drug exposure.

State Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Robert Sellers says 23 staff members at Ross Correctional Institution and one inmate began showing signs of a drug overdose Wednesday about 9 a.m.

ohio prison drug exposure
(Photo Credit: WBNS-TV)

Sellers says the inmate and staff members, including several guards and nurses, have been administered naloxone. The drug is used to combat overdoses caused by opioids such as heroin or fentanyl. The prison is about 44 miles south of Columbus.

Sellers says inmates in the unit where the exposure occurred were evacuated and a hazmat team will clear it. He said it's too early to tell what the substance was.

Messages were left for the prisons system and the union representing correctional officers.

(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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