Anthrax warning to herion addicts

HEROIN Addicts in the Lothians have been warned to stop taking the drug, after a local patient became the latest confirmed case of anthrax in the ongoing outbreak among drug users in Scotland.

This case, the first in the Lothians, brings the total number of confirmed cases in Scotland associated with this outbreak to 33, of whom 11 have died. Further cases have also occurred in England and Germany.

The outbreak is the first reported outbreak of anthrax to have occurred in conjunction with drug use.

This latest case emphasises that contaminated heroin still appears to be in circulation in Scotland and health experts warned that further cases may come to light.

Dr Colin Ramsay, Consultant Epidemiologist at Health Protection Scotland and head of the national Outbreak Control Team, said: "There is no way to tell if heroin is contaminated and there is no way to take heroin which we can advise is safer or less likely to result in illness or death if it has anthrax contamination.

"Drug users are advised that the only way to avoid the risk of anthrax in this outbreak is not to take heroin.

"While we appreciate that this may be extremely difficult advice to follow, it remains the only public health protection advice possible due to the nature of anthrax infection."

Anthrax is still a very dangerous and potentially fatal disease, as demonstrated by the serious illnesses and deaths which have occurred in Scotland so far in this outbreak.

As with all patients in this outbreak, there has been no evidence of person to person transmission or increased risk to their families, friends or other associates or to the general public.

The NHS said users should find out more about support services in their area by calling Know the Score on 0800 587 5879 or visiting www.scottishdrugservices.com.

And they warned that filters would not prevent infection from a batch of heroin contaminated with anthrax.

Dr Ramsay said: "It must be noted 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 fever, chills or a severe headache, as early antibiotic treatment can be lifesaving.

"Marked swelling of a limb which has been used as an injection site is a particularly important sign of possible anthrax infection."