Lab results confirm 5 fentanyl-related deaths in Yukon since last year
Toxicology reports take months, so may be more fentanyl deaths yet to be confirmed, officials say
After months of waiting, the Yukon Coroner's Office has received lab results from B.C. confirming there have been five fentanyl-related deaths in Yukon in just over a year.
"Fentanyl is not a B.C.-only problem. It is a problem everywhere, It is in Yukon now and it is killing Yukoners," said Heather Jones, acting chief coroner, in a statement.
The deaths are worrying to Yukon's chief medical officer of health, who has been warning people about the risk of opioids and the unreliability of street drugs.
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Yukon?src=hash">#Yukon</a> coroner confirms 5 people have died of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Fentanyl?src=hash">#Fentanyl</a> since April 2016. Chief Medical Officer of Health Brendan Hanley warns of risk: <a href="https://t.co/tffzTsLx2X">pic.twitter.com/tffzTsLx2X</a>
—@YukonPhilippe"It's around, it's unpredictable," says Dr. Brendan Hanley. "It could show up at any time and it can be disguised in numerous forms."
Hanley says one problem is that pills sometimes resemble brand-name drugs such as Xanax or Oxycontin. These fake pills, he says, can be wildly unpredictable in their level of fentanyl content.
"Even one identical pill to another could be very different in how much fentanyl is contained in that," he says.
The coroner's office has released no information about those deceased, such as their names or the communities where they died.
Lab results take four to six months
There is no forensic toxicologist in Canada's three territories, so Yukon relies on forensic services in B.C. Obtaining a forensic toxicology report in Yukon usually requires four to six months of waiting.
Hanley says that delay makes things difficult as the territory is trying to understand the extent of its problems with fentanyl.
He says there could be more recent deaths involving fentanyl, but the territory is waiting on lab results.
"Because of a lag in getting results, there may be confirmation of other [fentanyl-related] deaths. We just don't know. Without evidence at the scene we just have to wait for those toxicology results," Hanley said.
Both Hanley and Jones are urging people to avoid street drugs or at least use them alongside someone else who could respond in case of overdose.
Yukon has also made naloxone kits available in different places. Naloxone can temporarily reverse a fentanyl overdose.