VIRGINIA BEACH – The statewide battle against opioid-related overdoses continues, as preliminary numbers suggest that deaths are on the rise in the first quarter of 2017.

The Virginia Department of Health released a report that showed opioid overdoses remain the primary cause of unnatural death in the Commonwealth — hundreds more than both gun and automobile-related deaths.

According to the report, an estimated 1,169 people will die from opioid overdoses this year, just slightly above 2016’s totals, but more than 44 percent higher than 2015 opioid-related deaths.

In the first three months of 2017, the number of statewide fatal opioid overdoses reached 306 – about 27 percent of 2016’s 1,138 fatal overdoses.

Norfolk has seen 15 fatal opioid overdoses from January 1 to March 31, while Virginia Beach has recorded 21 opioid-related deaths.

According to the report, a forensic epidemiologist with the Virginia Department of Health, fentanyl-related overdoses have increased more than 176 percent in the last two years. In the first quarter of 2017, 190 Virginians have died from fentanyl overdoses alone.

Of those deaths 15 deaths in Norfolk, 10 were attributed to fentanyl. In Virginia Beach, 13 of the 21 deaths were also attributed to fentanyl. The department estimates that as many as 690 people will overdose on the drug this year, with illicitly produced fentanyl making up the bulk cause over overdoses.

The department estimates that as many as 690 people will overdose on the drug this year, with illicitly produced fentanyl making up the bulk cause over overdoses.

The report showed that prescription opioids – excluding prescription fentanyl – are down in the first quarter of 2017, with Norfolk reporting 4 deaths and Virginia Beach with 10.

Statewide, there were 113 prescription opioid overdoses for the first quarter of 2017, which fell from 124 in the first quarter of 2016. An estimated 471 people will overdose on prescription opioids, excluding prescription fentanyl.

Non-opioid related deaths are projected to remain constant with 2016 reports, with an estimated 290 deaths by end of year – making up roughly 20 percent of projected drug overdoses for all of 2017.

Read the department’s full report online.

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