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PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh area is expecting a record number of drug overdose deaths for 2015, and some surrounding counties have surpassed old records, too.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (http://bit.ly/1OwZILh ) says the Allegheny County medical examiner's office had 304 overdose deaths through Dec. 1, with several more expected as toxicology tests on pending cases are returned. The county, which includes Pittsburgh, had a record number of overdose deaths in 2014 with 307.
Ken Bacha (BATCH'-uh), the coroner in neighboring Westmoreland County expects a final total of about 125 overdose deaths for 2015, up from 2014's record of 82. In Armstrong County, northwest of Pittsburgh, Coroner Brian Myers says his office handled 29 overdoses last year, up from the previous record of 17, also set in 2014.
Experts say a rise in heroin use fueled spurred by Oxycontin abuse helped fuel the increase.
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Information from: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, http://pghtrib.com
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