The Eastern Regional Health Authority (ERHA) has confirmed that six men and one woman died as a result of an unidentified illness related to heroin use, rather than seven men as originally reported.
The ERHA made the original claim on Friday but revised this following further examination of the causes of death. "Following further discussions and refinement of the Glasgow case definition, the ERHA has come to the conclusion that instead of seven males fitting the case definition, it is now six males and one woman," a spokeswoman for the authority said.
The spokeswoman said the ERHA was examining records in Dublin hospitals for more possible heroin-related deaths.
She added the authority was still exploring a number of potential causes for the deaths, including contaminated or pure heroin.
An official from the Centres of Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, US, arrived in Dublin on Saturday to assist with the investigations, the spokeswoman added.
The deaths in Dublin have been linked to 12 deaths in Glasgow involving heroin users. The ERHA is working with the Scottish authorities, the Garda and the National Disease Surveillance Centre on the investigation into the deaths.
The connection between the deaths in Dublin and Glasgow may be the presence of abscesses on the bodies of all those who died.
The ERHA has warned heroin users not to inject and to seek immediate medical help should they notice an abscess, or significant redness or swelling at an injection area.