MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office shared a graph on Twitter Thursday that shows how much fentanyl-related overdoses and overdoses, in general, have increased over the years.
According to that data, there were five times more fentanyl-related overdoses in 2021 than five years earlier. In 2016, there were less than 100 and by 2021, there was more than 500 fentanyl alone or in combination overdoses.
The medical examiner's office said fentanyl was to blame for 79% of Milwaukee Co.'s drug overdose deaths in 2021.
The total number of overdoses, in general, has also increased. In fact, it has more than doubled in the last five years, going from less than 300 in 2015 to more than 600 in 2021.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner shared the graph on Twitter with little context, simply showing the growing numbers.
— Medical Examiner (@mkemedexamine) March 17, 2022
This comes after Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Services announced it would be distributing 1,600 fentanyl testing strips to help prevent opioid-related deaths.
