Prince George will see the highest number of illicit drug overdose deaths to occur in the city for a one-year period, according to the latest data from the B.C. Coroners Service.
The updated data, which includes statistics from November, shows 38 people have died in the first 11 months of 2018. That's the highest number on record for PG (the data goes as far back as 2008).
The numbers show how rates of illicit drug overdose deaths have continued to rise in Prince George.
In 2017, Prince George saw 24 deaths due to illicit drug overdoses; in 2016, there were 18 deaths; and in 2015 there were 12.
Way back in 2008, there were two illicit drug overdose deaths.
Across B.C., there were 120 suspected drug overdose deaths last month, representing a 13 per cent increase over the number of deaths in the same month last year. The B.C. Coroners Service says an average of four people died every day in November.
Data suggests that the proportion of illicit drug overdose deaths for which illicit fentanyl was detected (alone or in combination with other drugs) was approximately 82 per cent in 2017 and 85 per cent in 2018 (data up to Sept. 30, 2018).
The service says the majority of those dying from overdoses are men who are 30 to 59 years old, and most overdoses are occurring indoors.
The three cities experiencing the highest number of illicit drug overdoses are Vancouver, Surrey and Victoria.
But the rates of illicit drug overdose deaths are highest in Vancouver, Northern Interior, Thompson Cariboo, Okanagan, and Fraser South Health Services Delivery Areas.
The coroner's service says 1,486 people died of overdoses in B.C. last year.
The overall death toll for 2018 will be announced next month.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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