The number of opioid-involved overdose deaths in South Carolina has increased for the third year in a row, officials say.
A press release from the SC Emergency Management Division says officials announced the increase during a meeting of the state’s Opioid Emergency Response Team (OERT) on Monday.
According to the release, data from the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control shows from 2014 to 2017, the total number of deaths related to opioid overdose increased from 508 to 748 deaths, a 47% increase.
“This new data demonstrates the devastating effects that the opioid crisis continues to have on our state,” said Governor Henry McMaster in the release. “While the combined efforts of the OERT’s members and the many other South Carolinians dedicated to combating this public health emergency are having a positive impact, there is still much work to be done, but I know we have the right team in place to continue improving the services we provide to those suffering from opioid use disorder.”
Prescription drug-involved overdose deaths, which includes non-opioid drugs, increased by 37%, from 572 deaths in 2014 to 782 in 2017, according to the release. Heroin-involved overdose deaths saw a 153% increase, from 57 deaths in 2014 to 144 deaths in 2017. Fentanyl-involved deaths increased by 432%, from 68 deaths in 2014 to 362 deaths in 2017.
The release adds that methadone-related deaths have decreased from 79 in 2014 to 45 in 2017.
“The opioid crisis cannot be solved by any single organization. It takes partners with different areas of expertise working together. The work the response team is doing is critical in addressing this complex public health threat,” said Dr. Lilian Peake, DHEC Director of Public Health.
Three metropolitan areas, Charleston, Greenville, and Richland counties, saw increases in opioid-involved overdose deaths from 2016 to 2017, the release states.
The release also says that Horry County had a decrease in opioid-involved overdose deaths of 24%, from 101 in 2016 to 77 in 2017.
“Increasing the availability of the anti-overdose drug Naloxone and ensuring the availability of a full spectrum of resources – from prevention to treatment to recovery support – are essential to decreasing the number of opioid overdose deaths in our state,” said Sara Goldsby, Director of the S.C. Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services.
Data from 2017 will be available soon on a “map-based data portal that is part of the station’s opioid crisis education website,” the release also says. The website displays opioid-related mortality data and is searchable by county.