While the state saw a decrease in the number of drug overdose deaths from 2018 to last year, Indiana County saw an increase.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported yesterday that the preliminary data from 2019 showed 4,348 people died from a drug overdose in the state last year. That is a 1.7 percent decrease in the number of deaths from 2018, when the state had 4,491 overdose deaths. That data could change as the Department of Health is waiting for information on 62 deaths from county coroners and medical examiners.
The report showed that the months of August and December saw the most opioid-related overdose deaths per 10,000 people. The report also included EMS naloxone administration data by month, and it showed that August of last year had the highest rate of naloxone administrations by EMS per 10,000 people.
Indiana County saw an increase in the number of overdose deaths in 2019. According to OverdoseFreePA, a website administered by the University of Pittsburgh, Indiana County had 38 overdose deaths reported by County Coroner Jerry Overman, Jr, an increase of 15 from the year before. There have been 15 overdose deaths this year so far.
According data from 2008 to this year so far, the most common drug involved in the overdose deaths in Indiana County is fentanyl, with ethanol second and heroin third.
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