The province of British Columbia in Canada has witnessed several deaths due to medication overdose during the first eight months of 2017, cite reports. Statistics demonstrate that by August of this year, nearly 1013 fatal deaths due to the drug overdose were witnessed across the region till date this year, 31 more in comparison to 982 deaths caused due to the same drug in 2016. In the month of August 2017, nearly 131 persons were reported to have died due to overdose, which is a seventy-nine percent rise in the deaths that occurred in the same month last year. It was also observed that none of the fatal medicine overdoses took place at the drug preventing hospitals or authorized drug consumption site in 2017.
Healthcare professionals have stated that approximately 75% of the persons who expired belonged to 30-59 age groups, while four out of five among the deceased were males. Nearly 255 deaths were observed across Vancouver, a west coast seaport in British Columbia, during January to August in 2017, while Surrey followed Vancouver with 123 demises. Apparently, these figures broke the record of the number of deaths that occurred throughout Canada. Statistics reveal that Vancouver Coastal Health has witnessed the highest death toll due to medicine overdose at the rate of 38.9 per 1,00,000 persons.
According to medical reports, it was observed that over 80% of deaths reported in British Columbia were caused due to the consumption of fentanyl, an analgesic drug, integrated with other illegal medicines such as methamphetamines, cocaine, and heroin. It has also been witnessed that the deaths caused due to the drugs not encompassing fentanyl displayed a considerable reduction since 2015. To curb the problem, health authorities of the province have been making tremendous efforts to spread awareness about the side effects of the drug overdose to curb the rise in the number of death cases taking place across British Columbia.