Investigations Continue as Further Anthrax Death Announced

29 January 2010

Laboratory results have confirmed a case of anthrax infection in a deceased heroin user in the NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde area. This takes the number of confirmed cases of anthrax in the current outbreak in Scotland to eighteen, of whom a total of nine individuals have now died.

This patient died on December 12^th and so represents the earliest death linked to this outbreak chronologically. However, due to the complexity of the various methods of testing for anthrax it has only been possible to confirm the presence of anthrax infection now. It is important to note that there is no evidence of person to person transmission in this outbreak.

Evidence suggests that contaminated heroin may still be in circulation, with cases now having been identified in six NHS board areas across the country.

Dr Colin Ramsay, Consultant Epidemiologist at Health Protection Scotland and head of the national Outbreak Control Team, said:

"While public health investigations are continuing to attempt to identify the source of the contamination, no drug samples tested to date have shown anthrax contamination, although a number of other types of potentially harmful bacteria have been found.

"It must therefore be assumed that all heroin in Scotland carries the risk of anthrax contamination and users are advised to cease taking heroin by any route if at all possible. While we appreciate that this may be extremely difficult advice for users to follow, it remains the only public health protection advice possible based on current evidence.

"Users are encouraged to find out more about support services in their area by calling Know the Score on 0800 587 5879 or visiting http://www.scottishdrugservices.com/.

"Those who do continue to use heroin should follow current harm reduction advice, which says that fresh filters should be used on each occasion and that filters should not be re-used. It must be noted however that filters will not make heroin safe or remove all traces of anthrax contamination, so the best advice remains not to use heroin by any method. Users should seek urgent medical attention in the event of symptoms such as redness or swelling at or near an injection site or other symptoms of general illness such a high temperature, chills or a severe headache, as early antibiotic treatment can be lifesaving." 

Image courtesy of US Centers for Disease and Prevention.