DuPage County Opioid Deaths Slightly Decreased In 2019

DUPAGE COUNTY, IL —DuPage County's ongoing battle against opioid misuse showed some signs of hope after Coroner Richard Jorgensen released the 2019 statistics for opioid deaths countywide. The numbers showed a 2 percent decrease in opioid deaths overall compared to 2018.

In 2019, a total of 96 DuPage County residents died of opioid overdoses. This is a small decrease from 2018, which had a total of 98 opioid overdose deaths.

The 2019 breakdown was as follows:

• Heroin alone: 13 deaths
• Heroin and fentanyl mixture: 42 deaths
• Fentanyl alone: 33 deaths
• Opioid-based prescription meds: 8 deaths

As in previous years, the number of overdoses from heroin alone decreased and the number of deadly overdoses from fentanyl or a heroin/fentanyl mixture increased due to the "influx of synthetic opiates," Jorgensen said in a statement.

In 2018, there were 17 deaths due to heroin alone. Deaths due to fentanyl alone increased by 10 percent from 30 in 2018 to 33 in 2019.

In a statement, Jorgensen said, "the Opioid epidemic continues to destroy the lives of too many DuPage County residents."

He went on, "I and my office remain committed to continue our efforts to fight against this plague through education, support of drug treatment and the DuPage County Narcan Program."

The county's Narcan program is one of many initiatives DuPage is implementing to combat opioid misuse. The county also established the Heroin Opioid Prevention and Education taskforce (HOPE) to help opioid users.