米の薬物中毒死、初めて年間１０万人超える　コロナ禍で悪化

【ワシントンＡＦＰ＝時事】米政府は１７日、国内の薬物過剰摂取による年間死者数が、新型コロナウイルス流行中に初めて１０万人を超えたと発表した。死者増加の主な要因はオピオイド系鎮痛剤のフェンタニルで、ネット上での偽造医薬品のまん延も事態を悪化させている。（写真は資料写真）
　専門家は、コロナ禍により物質使用障害のある人々が日々の生活を阻害されたことで大きな影響を受けたと指摘している。また、メキシコから米国に持ち込まれた偽造薬の押収量は記録的な水準に達しており、中には服用により死に至るものもある。
　米国では２０２０年４月～２０２１年４月、薬物過剰摂取により１０万３０６人が死亡。死者数は前年同期比で２８．５％増加し、５分に１人が死亡している計算となる。死者のうち７万５６７３人はオピオイドによるもので、その大半はフェンタニルなどの合成オピオイドだった。
　メタンフェタミンなどの覚せい剤や、処方鎮痛剤を含む天然・半合成オピオイド、コカインによる死亡者も増加した。英情報サイト「Ｏｕｒ　Ｗｏｒｌｄ　ｉｎ　Ｄａｔａ」によると、同時期の新型コロナウイルスによる死者数は約５０万８０００人だった。
　米麻薬取締局（ＤＥＡ）は、オキシコンチンやバイコディン、ザナックス、アデラルといった処方薬に見せかけて、致死量のフェンタニルやメタンフェタミンを含んだ薬がネット上で流通していると警告。同局は今年、こうした薬物１４００万錠以上を押収しており、その大半は中国産の化学物質を使ってメキシコで製造されたものだった。偽造薬は、交流サイト（ＳＮＳ）やネット販売サイトで広く販売されている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/11/18-13:21）

US annual drug overdose deaths surged to more than 100,000 for the first time during the Covid-19 pandemic, a crisis driven mainly by fentanyl and exacerbated by a flood of fake online pills, officials said Wednesday.
Experts say people with substance use disorders have been hit hard by daily life disruptions, while authorities are seizing record numbers of counterfeit and sometimes deadly medicines from Mexico.
As we continue to make strides to defeat the Covid-19 pandemic, we cannot overlook this epidemic of loss, which has touched families and communities across the country, President Joe Biden said in a statement.
Between April 2020 and April 2021, the country saw 100,306 fatal overdoses, an increase of 28.5 percent compared to the same period the previous year -- equal to one death every five minutes.
Overall, opioids accounted for 75,673 of the 100,306 fatalities, with the vast majority from synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl.
It's time to face the fact that this crisis seems to be getting worse. We need all hands on deck, health secretary Xavier Becerra said in a call with reporters.
We see it in the faces of grieving families and all those overworked caregivers. You hear it every time you get that panic 911 phone call.
You read it in obituaries of sons and daughters, who left us way too soon... and since Covid-19 hit, it's gotten worse.
Deaths from psychostimulants like methamphetamine, as well as from natural and semi-synthetic opioids, such as prescription pain medication, and cocaine were also up.
Covid-19 killed around 508,000 people in the same time frame, according to Our World in Data.
Many of the challenges left behind by the pandemic will actually make people more vulnerable to mental illness and substance use disorders, Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse said in the briefing.
At the same time, the US Drug Enforcement Administration has warned Americans about prescription pills available online that are made to look like real Oxycontin, Vicodin, Xanax or Adderall, but contain lethal doses of fentanyl and methamphetamine.
The DEA has seized more than 14 million pills this year, with the vast majority produced in Mexico from chemicals supplied by China.
The fake pills are widely available on social media and e-commerce platforms.
In 2019, the latest year for which national data was available, heart disease was the leading cause of death, with some 660,000 fatalities, followed by cancer, with around 600,000 deaths, and unintentional injuries, at 175,000.
- Life-saving nasal spray -
Biden's administration meanwhile announced the release of a model law it wants states to adopt that would widen access to naloxone, a life-saving nasal spray that reverses overdoses.
I believe that no one should die of an overdose simply because they didn't have access to naloxone, said Rahul Gupta, director of national drug control policy.
Sadly, today that is happening across the country.
The act includes provisions that would grant immunity to individuals who administer naloxone, require physicians to co-prescribe it when prescribing opioids, ensure health insurance covers the medicine, and seek to educate more people about the benefits.
Tom Wolf, the governor of Pennsylvania, said Wednesday his administration wanted ordinary citizens to carry the medicine, which is available to the public throughout the state's pharmacies.
In his statement, Biden touted a stimulus package that passed in March and delivered $4 billion to expand services for substance abuse and mental health.