Connecticut heroin-related deaths jumped again in 2015; 11 died in Torrington More than twice as many died than 3 years earlier

A kit with naloxone, brand name Narcan, is displayed at the South Jersey AIDS Alliance in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 2014. An overdose of opiates essentially makes the body forget to breathe. Naloxone works by blocking the brain receptors that opiates latch onto and helping the body “remember” to take in air. less A kit with naloxone, brand name Narcan, is displayed at the South Jersey AIDS Alliance in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 2014. An overdose of opiates essentially makes the body forget to breathe. Naloxone works ... more Photo: Mel Evans — ASSOCIATED PRESS Photo: Mel Evans — ASSOCIATED PRESS Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Connecticut heroin-related deaths jumped again in 2015; 11 died in Torrington 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

More than twice as many Connecticut men and women died of overdoses involving heroin in 2015 than did three years earlier, according to statistics provided by the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

In 2012, there were 174 cases of heroin involved in any death. That number jumped to 258 in 2013, 327 in 2014 and 415 in 2015. These statistics are mostly buoyed by the use of heroin along with fentanyl or cocaine, as the deaths resulting from heroin alone dropped slightly: There were 115 such deaths in 2014 and 110 in 2015.

Dr. James Gill, the state’s chief medical examiner, said in an email that the fatalities from accidental drug intoxications continue to increase.

“Overall, they have increased by 27% from 2014 and 46% from 2013,” Gill said. “Heroin deaths have increased 27% and fentanyl deaths have increased 148% from 2014 to 2015. The vast majority of fentanyl intoxications involve illicit (not prescription) fentanyl.”

The youngest fatal opioid victim was 18, while the oldest was 72. The data indicate 114 fatal overdoses involving heroin occurred in New Haven County and 128 in Hartford County; followed by Fairfield County, with 68; New London County with 55, Litchfield County with 35; Middlesex County with 23; Windham County with 19; and Tolland County with 17.

According to the data, 36 people died of heroin-related overdoses in New Haven in 2015; 11 died in Torrington; and 14 died in Middletown. In 2014, New Haven had 22 fatal overdoses involving heroin; Torrington had 16; and Middletown had six. Hartford had the most fatal overdoses of any city in 2015, with 59, up from 32 in 2014.

Deaths resulting from heroin combined with fentanyl — a synthetic opioid more than 100 times more potent than morphine — nearly tripled statewide from 37 in 2014 to 107 in 2015. This is the third year running that deaths resulting from a mix of heroin and fentanyl sharply increased. There were only nine such deaths in 2013 and just a single heroin-fentanyl overdose death in 2012.

In total, deaths involving fentanyl rose from 75 in 2014 to 186 in 2015.

There were 33 more deaths where both heroin and cocaine were detected in 2015, with 106, compared to 73 in 2014. Sixty-nine such deaths were recorded in 2013 and 50 such deaths in 2012. There were 29 deaths from cocaine alone in 2015, up from 22 the previous year.

Amphetamine and methamphetamine deaths rose from 11 in 2014 to 20 in 2015.

Connecticut has made efforts to combat the rise of heroin and other opioid use by providing more access to naloxone, the anti-overdose drug, and by providing more training to the state’s behavioral health and substance abuse programs. According to studies by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an average of one to two people die of an opioid overdose every day in the state, making it the leading cause of adult injury death, more than motor vehicle, fire and firearm deaths combined.

Last fall, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a naloxone nasal spray that will be available for the generalpublic. While there are several devices that administer the drug, the nasal spray is only the second dispenser approved by the FDA, a spokesperson said last year.

Pure ethanol intoxication deaths, which are overdose deaths from alcohol, were not included in the report.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is scheduled to join Michael Botticelli, national drug control policy director, in Hartford Tuesday to announce new strategies for serving families combating effects of substance use, according to a release. Malloy also will participate in a forum to discuss how to prevent and treat prescription drug abuse and heroin use.

Intoxication deaths are a type of chemical injury, which is why they are referred to as “accidental,” as such injuries cannot be called natural, Gill told the New Haven Register last year.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2, also will convene law enforcement, doctors and other experts in New London Tuesday for the second day of a two-day summit on heroin and opioid abuse.

Reach Ryan Flynn at 203-680-9962. Reach Esteban Hernandez at 203-680-9901.