Franklin County saw a small dip in overdose deaths in the first quarter of 2018, according to data released by the Franklin County Coroner's Office on Friday.
Franklin County saw 111 overdose deaths between January 1 and March 31, 2018. That’s a 13 percent drop from the same period last year.
Once again, the opioid fentanyl accounts for 67.5 percent of overdose deaths. Overall, opiates accounted for 84 percent of overdose deaths.
The West Side and Hilltop areas continue to be the most affected by overdoses, with others deaths concentrated in Grove City, Whitehall and German Village.
In March, the county coroner reported 18 overdose deaths in one week, a "dramatic increase" from recent rates. That trend did not seem to hold, though.
In a press release, Franklin County Coroner Anahi Ortiz credited the decrease in deaths to the increased availability of Narcan, an anti-overdose drug, and a decrease in supply thanks to recent seizures by law enforcement.
The report wasn't all good news. Despite the recent dip, Franklin County has still seen a 35 percent increase in overdose deaths over the past two years. A total of 520 people died of overdoses in 2017, which was a 47 percent jump from 2016.
CDC numbers show that Ohio recorded 5,200 opioid overdose deaths between June 2016 and June 2017,
