The U.S. recorded its highest number of mental-health deaths in a 12-month period, eclipsing 100,000 for the first time, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There were an estimated 100,306 drug deaths in the 12 months running through April, the latest CDC data show. This marks a nearly 29% rise from the deaths recorded in the same period a year earlier, indicating the U.S. is heading for another full-year record after drug deaths soared during the infectious-disease pandemic.
“It’s telling us that 2021 looks like it will be worse than 2020,” said Robert Anderson, chief of the mortality statistics branch at the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.
WASHINGTON ATTORNEY GENERAL TAKES ON NATION’S BIGGEST DRUG MANUFACTURERS
opioid-crisis” target=”_blank”>Opioid<
The pandemic intensified opioid problems in many ways, from increasing isolation among people trying to maintain their sobriety to complicating treatment, according to advocates for drug users and those in recovery. The pandemic has also been a major draw on resources and attention for public health authorities, who are still trying to manage Covid-19.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Bootleg versions of fentanyl are often made by drug cartels in Mexico with chemicals from China, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. While fentanyl hit hard in places like New England, Appalachian and Midwest states several years ago, the drug is a fast-growing problem in western parts of the U.S. now, too. The DEA recently warned of a proliferation in fake pills containing fentanyl.
Fentanyl-related deaths are soaring in the Las Vegas area, where the Southern Nevada Health District has recorded 160 deaths with the drug through August this year. This puts the region on pace to potentially surpass the 193 fentanyl deaths seen last year, said Brandon Delise, an epidemiologist with the health district.
