HIAWASSEE, Ga. – FetchYourNews (FYN) sat down with Towns County Sole Commissioner Cliff Bradshaw, May 28, following a recent report exposing Towns as the highest county per-capita for emergency room visits due to opioid overdoses, according to the latest annual statistics from the Georgia Department of Public Health.

Additionally, Opioid & Health Indicators Database shows that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) identified 220 counties at risk for outbreaks of HIV and/or Hepatitis C as a result of the opioid epidemic. Towns County landed in the the top five-percent of counties in the nation based on the factors assessed, scoring 120 on the national rank of at risk counties in the United States. Sharing needles, syringes, or other injection equipment to inject drugs puts users at risk for receiving or transmitting HIV and other infections, the CDC states. Sexual activity between an infected individual and a partner can further transfer the disease.

The CDC ranked Towns as a county vunerable to health risks due to opioid abuse

“The opioid epidemic has been a serious concern, and remains one,” Commissioner Bradshaw said Tuesday morning. “It’s not only concerning for Towns County, but the American people as a whole. It’s a tragedy. Towns County joined in a lawsuit against the opioid industry, and I plan to speak with our county attorney to see what more the commissioner can and cannot do.”

FYN reported on the lawsuit filed by the county in April, 2018. According to statistics provided by Towns County Attorney Robb Kiker, 111 opioid prescriptions per 100 residents were dispensed in Towns County during 2016, the period that the last study was conducted. While all of Towns County citizens are clearly not opioid users, it is indicative of the magnitude of the crippling crisis.

“The crisis in the United States is that opioid abuse is the leading cause of death for people under age 50,” Kiker said. “For the first time in 75 years, the life expectancy for people in the United States declined in 2015 and 2016, and it’s directly attributed to opioid abuse.”