Grande Prairie still has the third highest rate of fatal opioid overdoses in Alberta. The latest report from Alberta Health shows five people in the city died of apparent accidental drug poisoning deaths related to fentanyl from July to September.
Over the first nine months of the year, a total of 16 lives have been lost to fentanyl overdoses. That gives the city a rate of 28.8 per 100,000, behind only Red Deer (38.5) and Lethbridge (29.4). There have been no deaths related to any other opioids so far in 2018.
Grande Prairie had the province’s highest fatal opioid overdose rate in 2017 when it hit 36.4 for fentanyl deaths and 5.4 for other opioid-related deaths. Province-wide, Alberta Health says an average of two people die from an apparent accidental opioid poisoning a day, but adds that numbers are becoming static.
“While fentanyl-related deaths continue to increase, the increase appears to have slowed, and concurrently, non-fentanyl opioid deaths have decreased significantly. While it is too early to know for sure, this suggests overdose deaths may be plateauing.”
By the end of September, 523 people had died from an opioid overdose in Alberta.
