DC, Virginia Overdose Death Rates Soar: CDC

WASHINGTON, DC — An epidemic of drug overdoses is spreading across the nation and among many demographic groups, and opioids are at the heart of the problem. Those are the findings of an in-depth analysis of 2016 drug-overdose data by the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that listed the District of Columbia as having the biggest increase in fatalities, while Virginia is also one of the state's hardest hit by the epidemic.

According to a new CDC report, drug overdoses killed 63,632 Americans in 2016. That represents a 21.5 percent increases in the overall overdose death rate, and nearly two-thirds of those deaths involved a prescription or illicitly taken opioid, the CDC said.

In Washington, D.C., 209 people died from an opioid overdose in 2016, an increase of 106.9 percent from the year before, according to the CDC. Out of those deaths, 66 stemmed from prescription opioids, an increase of 151.4 percent in 2016 from the previous year. Virginia fared only slightly better, with 1,130 deaths from opioids, up 36.4 percent from 2015 to 2016. Of those fatalities, 400 cases were attributed to prescription opioids, a 23.7 percent increase in 2016.

Across all types of drugs, overdose deaths were up for both men and women, people ages 15 and older, all races and ethnicities and in urban, suburban and rural areas, according to the report. But it's opioids like fentanyl that are driving the uptick, doctors say.

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"No area of the United States is exempt from this epidemic — we all know a friend, family member, or loved one devastated by opioids," said CDC Principal Deputy Director Dr. Anne Schuchat. "All branches of the federal government are working together to reduce the availability of illicit drugs, prevent deaths from overdoses, treat people with substance-use disorders, and prevent people from starting using drugs in the first place."

The results were published as part of the CDC's most recent weekly Morbidity and Mortality Weekly report.
The analysis looked at 2015-16 overdose deaths in 31 states and Washington D.C. The largest increase in opioid death rates was among men between 25-44. The death rate from synthetic opioids more than doubled, likely driven by fentanyl, the CDC said.

DC heroin deaths tallied 122 in 2016, the agency said, while 129 deaths were caused by synthetic opioids other than methadone, for a 392.3 percent increase in one year. Virginia saw 450 fatalities from heroin, plus 648 deaths due to synthetic opioids other than methadone, for a 139.4 percent increase from 2015 to 2016.

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Prescription opioid deaths were up 10.6 percent and heroin-related deaths were up 19.5 percent nationally. Death rates from opioids increased in 21 of the states that were studied, with rates doubling in 10 of them between 2015 and 2016.

New Hampshire, West Virginia and Massachusetts had the highest death rates from synthetic opioids. Fourteen states saw significant increases in heroin deaths, with Washington D.C., West Virginia and Ohio at the top of the list.

Eight states — led by West Virginia, Maryland, Maine and Utah — had significant increases in prescription opioid deaths. Meanwhile, 16 states had significant increases in deaths involving cocaine and 14 had significant increases in deaths involving psychostimulants, which are sometimes mixed with opioids, the CDC said.

According to the CDC, the new report highlights the need for public health and law-enforcement agencies to work together to prevent overdose deaths.

"Effective, synchronized programs to prevent drug overdoses will require coordination of law enforcement, first responders, mental health-substance-abuse providers, public health agencies, and community partners," said Dr. Puja Seth, the report's lead author.

The federal agency's goals include:

• Protect people with opioid use disorder by expanding treatmentcapacity and naloxone distribution.
• Improve coordination among law enforcement and public-health agencies to reduce and improve detection of the illicit opioid supply.
• Improve opioid prescribing to reduce unnecessary exposure to opioids and prevent addiction by training providers and implementing CDC's Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain.
• Support programs that reduce the harms of injecting opioids, including programs offering screening for HIV and hepatitis B and C in combination with referral to treatment.
• Improve coordination among law enforcement and public-health agencies to reduce and improve detection of the illicit opioid supply.
• Improve access to and use of prescription drug monitoring programs.

The CDC's Overdose Prevention in States initiatives include funding for state-level public health efforts in 45 states and Washington, D.C.. The agency helps equip states with resources to prevent opioid misuse and overdose by tracking and monitoring the epidemic, helping scale up effective programs, and equipping health care providers with tools and guidance needed to make informed clinical decisions.

In March 2016, CDC released its Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain to provide new recommendations to doctors considering prescribing opioids, which are used to battle intense pain.

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