Health officials find positives signs despite jump in fentanyl-linked ODs

EDMONTON The number of fentanyl-related deaths continues to rise in Alberta, but health officials said the latest data could show the first signs of a plateau in the unrelenting crisis.

From Jan. 1 to May 6, 228 people died from fentanyl-related overdoses, according to the newest government data released Thursday.

It means this year Alberta is on track to average 12.6 deaths per week, higher than the 11.2 deaths per week in 2017, when a total of 583 people died.

“What’s changed is from the fourth quarter in 2017 … we’re starting to see perhaps a plateauing of those numbers rather than a continued upwards sweep,” Dr. Karen Grimsrud, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, said at a news conference, adding there was a spike in deaths at the end of last year.

The most recent numbers are encouraging and may signal a levelling out of fentanyl-related deaths, she said.

“I don’t want to say outright that we’ve turned a corner,” she said. “It’s really too early to tell if that trend will continue.”

The province started closely tracking deaths due to fentanylrelated overdoses in 2016, when 368 people died.

Calgary remains the most affected zone, reporting 112 fentanyl-related overdose deaths within the first five months of the year, according to the data. In 2017, there were a total of 271 deaths in Calgary compared to 176 in Edmonton.

The latest data also includes 66 deaths from carfentanil-related overdoses since Jan. 1, including 42 in Calgary. In 2017, there were a total of 170 carfentanil-related deaths across the province.

A number of steps have been introduced in the past year to combat the opioid crisis.