May was a ‘particularly deadly' month for suspected opioid overdoses in N.H.
Medics from AMR responded to 43 suspected opioid overdoses in Nashua and Manchester in May. But Stawasz said because Narcan is now widely available for free, it's likely there are many overdoses that continue to occur without 9-1-1 intervention.
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The increase in suspected opioid overdose deaths come after months of positive indicators, with overdoses trending down in recent months compared to last year in both cities.
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But Stawasz said those improvements 'by no means signal that the opioid epidemic is 'under control' or close to elimination.'
'It is always possible that the trend of lower numbers could change quickly — as evidenced this month,' he said.
New Hampshire isn't the only state to see the sudden increase in deaths in May. Stawasz said Connecticut also saw a surge in both fatal and non-fatal overdoses around the state, with 61 suspected fatal overdoses between May 16 and June 6.
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A bulletin from the
'That CT surge seems to correlate to the surge in deaths we experienced here in Nashua & Manchester,' Stawasz said in an email. 'The bulletin suggests that polysubstance combinations and higher concentrations of fentanyl may be contributing factors to the current spike in overdose deaths.'
While overdose deaths in Manchester are trending about 13 percent less than last year, in Nashua, they're up nearly 70 percent this year, according to AMR. There were 20 opioid deaths in 2024, and there's already been 14 so far this year in Nashua.
Meanwhile, in Manchester, the percentage of overdoses that were fatal shot up to 26 percent in May, more than double the rolling 12-month average of 11 percent.
Amanda Gokee can be reached at
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