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Updated: Jan 23, 2026

Author Spotlight: An Efficient Methodology to Confidently Differentiate and Characterize Fentanyl Analogs
Published on: November 8, 2024
The Outbreak of Fentanyl-Related Deaths in Cook County, Illinois, Between October 2015 and December 2017: A
Serenella Serinelli1, Steven White2, Ponni Arunkumar3
1Department of Pathology, State University of New York Upstate Medical University, 750 E. Adams St., Syracuse, NY, 13210.
Abstract:
The National Institute on Drug Abuse has observed an increase in fentanyl deaths in the United States. One epidemic related to the abuse of fentanyl happened in Cook County in 2005-2007 (350 deaths). Another outbreak of fentanyl deaths occurred in 2015-2017 in the same area. The database of the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office was searched for cases of fentanyl deaths between 2015 and 2017: 1244 deaths were found. A comparison was performed with the previous data: an increase in the number of females was observed in 2015-2017. Also, in 2005-2007, the majority of deaths occurred among African American, while in 2015-2017, Caucasians were more involved. Within our population, some drug combinations were more common in specific demographic subgroups (male/females; Caucasian/African American; and certain age groups). The epidemiology and the most significant drug associations found at the toxicology are discussed, highlighting the usefulness of the knowledge about this outbreak for public health.
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