A bag of heroin fentanyl pills, as seen on July 2, 2018. (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration)
Pills and drugs in powder form laced with fentanyl are fueling a spike in overdose deaths across King County, according to Public Health -- Seattle & King County.
Ongoing tracking of overdose deaths by Public Health shows that, between mid-June and mid-September, 141 people overdosed and died. During the same period last year, 109 people died as a result of an overdose.
Another concerning trend is an increase in the number of housed people who are dying from fentanyl-related overdoses, according to Public Health. From June to September, 21 housed people have died from overdoses that somehow involved fentanyl, a synthetic narcotic much more potent than other opioids like heroin.
Since January, 63 housed people have died from fentanyl. That exceeds last year's total of 62, which was double the total in 2017.
That's in contrast to homeless people, who were more likely to die from overdoses that involve methamphetamine or opioids other than fentanyl. Public Health found that from mid-June through August, only one person experiencing homelessness died from fentanyl-related causes.
Public Health is still working to understand why the housed population is seeing such a spike in overdose deaths involving fentanyl, said Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer for the agency.
Nearly all of the county's fatal overdoses involved a cocktail of substances, with methamphetamine-related incidents in particular continuing to rise.
Overdose deaths continue to rise in King County and across the state, driven by fentanyl. In King County last year, 415 people died from overdoses caused by alcohol and/or drug use. In 2017, 379 people died, according to a yearly report from Public Health.
The deaths this summer weren't concentrated in one area and they mostly impacted young men, Duchin said.
Statewide, there were 710 overdose deaths in 2018, about a third of which involved fentanyl. According to Public Health, in King County fatal overdoses from heroin and prescription opioids have stabilized, while fentanyl-related deaths doubled since 2017.
The increase in fentanyl-related deaths across the nation has been worrisome to watch, especially as it has crept into Washington, Duchin said.
"It's the sad realization that fentanyl is catching up with folks here in King County," he said.
In an attempt to reduce the number of people overdosing from opioids, the state has made naloxone available to anyone through a pharmacy. Naloxone, also known as Narcan, temporarily blocks the effects of opioids. It can be given as an injection or a nasal spray. Earlier this year, the state Department of Health started a program distributing naloxone kits across the state. The program is expected to hand out 11,000 kits during its first year.
In King County, naloxone kits have been given to the police and treatment providers and are available to the public through needle exchanges. Last year the county passed out more than 20,000 kits; 5,000 overdoses were reversed because of them, according to Public Health.
The state and the county are also working to get people with opioid-use disorder to seek treatment with buprenorphine, which helps with recovery. The state maintains a map showing where people can find clinics and health-care providers dispensing buprenorphine and methadone.
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