Child poisoning deaths spiked in pandemic from narcotics, bleach and batteries

The pandemic saw a spike in young children accidentally poisoned by products found at home — including bleach, coin-sized batteries and narcotics, federal officials said in a report out this week. 

On average, 31 kids under the age of 5 die of poisoning each year, a figure that has fallen 80% from 1972, when 216 children died, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. 

But, after decades of falling fatality rates, the past several years have seen a reversal.