Seattle, King County set new record for overdose deaths
SEATTLE - Seattle and King County set a new record for fatal overdoses with 359 deaths in 2016, according to new data from the King County Medical Examiner’s office.
The bulk of those deaths – 61 percent – involved opioids, both in synthetic form such as oxycodone or methadone, and opiates derived from poppies such as heroin and morphine. The number of overdose deaths exceeds the 2015 totals by 14 additional fatalities and marks the seventh straight year of increases.
And hidden within the data is a particularly worrying record for health experts: The medical examiner’s office last year linked 22 deaths to the powerful, synthetic opiate fentanyl – up from a total of five in 2015 and far more than has ever been recorded in a single year in King County. The previous high count of fentanyl deaths was eight in 2010.
“Fentanyl is a big concern,†said Dr. Richard Harruff, the King County Medical Examiner. Harruff said the reasons for the spike in fentanyl deaths isn’t clear. But, he added, synthetic opioids still remain far less prevalent in the Puget Sound than elsewhere in the country.
“The problem here (with synthetic opiates) is less than in the Midwest, for example,†he said. “We see much more of the natural opiates such as heroin.â€
The preliminary 2016 numbers – not yet finalized – show a 27 percent increase in fatal overdoses since 2010. But while both synthetic and natural forms of opium remain fully or partly responsible for the majority of the fatalities, they have remained, on average, a steady 63 percent of the overall total for the past seven years.
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Seattle, King County set new record for overdose deaths
SEATTLE - Seattle and King County set a new record for fatal overdoses with 359 deaths in 2016, according to new data from the King County Medical Examiner’s office.
The bulk of those deaths – 61 percent – involved opioids, both in synthetic form such as oxycodone or methadone, and opiates derived from poppies such as heroin and morphine. The number of overdose deaths exceeds the 2015 totals by 14 additional fatalities and marks the seventh straight year of increases.
And hidden within the data is a particularly worrying record for health experts: The medical examiner’s office last year linked 22 deaths to the powerful, synthetic opiate fentanyl – up from a total of five in 2015 and far more than has ever been recorded in a single year in King County. The previous high count of fentanyl deaths was eight in 2010.
“Fentanyl is a big concern,†said Dr. Richard Harruff, the King County Medical Examiner. Harruff said the reasons for the spike in fentanyl deaths isn’t clear. But, he added, synthetic opioids still remain far less prevalent in the Puget Sound than elsewhere in the country.
“The problem here (with synthetic opiates) is less than in the Midwest, for example,†he said. “We see much more of the natural opiates such as heroin.â€
The preliminary 2016 numbers – not yet finalized – show a 27 percent increase in fatal overdoses since 2010. But while both synthetic and natural forms of opium remain fully or partly responsible for the majority of the fatalities, they have remained, on average, a steady 63 percent of the overall total for the past seven years.
http://www.kiro7.com/news/local/seattle-king-county-set-new-record-for-overdose-deaths/501465721
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