LEXINGTON, Ky. _ Abuse of heroin and a painkiller called fentanyl pushed drug-overdose deaths to a record high in Kentucky in 2016, according to a report released Tuesday.
The state recorded 1,404 overdose deaths, according to the report from the state Office of Drug Control Policy. That was up from 1,248 in 2015.
The 2016 number could go up a bit more with additional reports from authorities.
The number of deaths involving heroin went up from 28 percent of overdoses in 2015 to 34 percent in 2016.
The report also found that fentanyl was involved in 47 percent of the 1,404 overdose deaths, either alone or in combination with heroin.
That was up from 34 percent the year before, indicating a continued rising abuse of fentanyl, which is more powerful than heroin.
Drug traffickers sometimes mix fentanyl with heroin in order to increase their supply. That's a danger to drug abusers who don't know the more powerful drug is mixed in, increasing the risk of death.
The top five counties for heroin-related deaths were Jefferson, Fayette, Kenton, Campbell and Boone. Jefferson County had the biggest spike in deaths.
When considering deaths as a share of the population, however, the top five counties were Leslie, Bell, Powell, Gallatin and Campbell.
The report counts overdose deaths of Kentucky residents wherever they occurred, and deaths of non-residents that happened in Kentucky.
