CDC: Rise in Number of Fentanyl Deaths in 10 States

(July 17) Fentanyl and its more powerful derivatives are behind a growing number of opioid overdose deaths in 10 states, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC looked at trends in Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

In those states, from July 2016 – June 2017 about 20 percent of opioids overdose deaths were related to any fentanyl analog and 11 percent were related specifically to carfentanil – a synthetic opioid 100 times more potent than fentanyl. During the first six months of 2017, the number of deaths related to any fentanyl analog (1,511) was almost twice the number during the last six months of 2016 (764). In addition, carfentanil deaths increased 94 percent during that same time period.

Read more from the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report here.