Alarming increase | Editorials | bdtonline.com

A new study has found that fentanyl-related deaths are on the rise in West Virginia, even as deaths related to prescription opioids decline. That’s the alarming conclusion of a new study from West Virginia University researchers, who analyzed drug-related deaths in the state from 2005 to 2017.

The study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health, found that between 2015 and 2017 deaths in the Mountain State from fentanyl were 122 percent of what they were between 2005 and 2014.

Before 2015, the greatest number of fentanyl-related deaths in a single year in West Virginia was 60, according to data from the West Virginia Health Statistics Center.

Since that time the numbers have skyrocketed with 180 fentanyl-related deaths in 2015, then 366 in 2016, and 596 in 2017, the Register-Herald in Beckley reported.

We do not yet have data for the year 2018, as that information has not been released by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. However, early indications from law enforcement agencies that are at the forefront of the drug battle suggest the number may continue to rise.

The WVU research team, comprised of Gordon Smith, Marie Abate, Zheng Dai and medical examiners from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, have attributed the increase in fentanyl abuse to illegal imports from China.

“Up until then, people who were shifting from legal prescription drugs to illegal drugs were shifting to heroin and opioids coming in from Mexico and other places,” said Smith, an epidemiologist in the School of Public Health. “But then people started manufacturing fentanyl in China, setting up clandestine labs, staying one step ahead of drug-enforcement agencies.”

Smith said fentanyl and carfentanil, a fentanyl analog that’s a thousand times stronger than morphine and heroin, are easy to export. He believes that in order to reduce overdoses, the number of people addicted and using must be decreased.

“But with fentanyl, you could halve the number of addicts in West Virginia, and the overdose rate could still go up because the strength of the drug coming in is so much stronger and can vary widely from one day to the next,” Smith said. “This is an absolute quandary.”

He recommends more widespread naloxone distribution, including to injection drug users, their families, and to first responders, such as paramedics, firefighters and police.

Here in the deep south counties, many law enforcement agencies and first responders have already been equipped with naloxone. So at least in that one area, officials are prepared to respond to this emerging threat.

Still, the findings of the new study are reason for concern. We have long feared that fentanyl abuse would become more widespread. That’s why officials across the state, including those here in southern West Virginia, must be proactive when it comes to responding to the increase in fentanyl-related deaths.

It is imperative that we address the overdose death rate on multiple fronts, which includes public health, law enforcement, education and community awareness.