The number of drug overdose deaths has increased significantly in the US, reaching a new record high in fatalities in the year ended May, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced.
The CDC’s Health Alert Network released a report Thursday saying that 81,230 drug overdose deaths occurred in that period as of June 2019.
“This represents a worsening of the drug overdose epidemic in the United States and represents the largest number of drug overdoses ever recorded over a 12-month period,” the agency said.
The CDC noted that “after a 4.1% decline between 2017 and 2018, the number of overdose deaths increased 18.2% from the 12 months ended June 2019.”
Drug overdose deaths were on the rise before the start of 2020, but accelerated as the COVID-19 pandemic continued, the CDC says.
Synthetic opioids were the leading cause of the increase in overdose deaths, the agency continued, saying, “The number of deaths from synthetic opioids increased 38.4% in 12 months from the 12 months ended June 2019 compared with the 12 months ended June 2019. in May 2020. “
The CDC recommends expanding the use of naloxone, a drug that treats overdoses during emergencies, and that people should take overdose prevention classes.