Red Deer sees more fentanyl deaths in 2017: Report
Red Deer is seeing the second-highest rate of apparent fentanyl-related deaths among Alberta’s larger cities.
Alberta Health has released its final 2017 Quarterly Report on Opioids and Substances of Misuse. The report includes the final tally for deaths, ER visits, hospitalizations and methadone/naloxone dispensing.
In Alberta, 687 people died from apparent accidental opioid overdoses last year, nearly two people per day. An overwhelming 81.2 per cent (562 people) died from an apparent accidental fentanyl overdose, compared to 358 people in 2016.
The number of accidental poisoning deaths related to carfentanil increased by an alarming 430 per cent from 20 deaths in 2016 to 159 in 2017.