8th February 2010
West Dunbartonshire Council’s Addiction Services are asking drug users and their families to be aware of the signs of Anthrax poisoning following another confirmed death of the poisoning in the Greater Glasgow & Clyde area.
Social Work, Criminal Justice and Homelessness staff have all been briefed on the signs of anthrax poisoning, with health officials confirming early treatment can save lives.
Tom Jackson, Manager of Addiction Services said: “I would advise all drug users to engage with local treatment services and stop taking heroin if at all possible, and be aware of the symptoms of anthrax poisoning. Symptoms of infection include swelling, redness, abscesses or ulcers on skin where the needle has entered. Smoking heroin also carries a risk, and infection may result in fever or other flu-like symptoms.”
He added “If you experience any of these signs, I would recommend you seek medical advice immediately.”
This latest confirmed anthrax death brings the total number of confirmed cases in Greater Glasgow & Clyde to 10 with 6 people having lost their lives to Anthrax poisoning.
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.”
He continued: “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.”
Evidence suggests that contaminated heroin may still be in circulation, and drug users all across Scotland must remain vigilant.
The outbreak began with the identification of cases in NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde in December, with cases now having been identified in six NHS board areas across the country.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact:
Clydebank Community Addiction Team on 0141 562 2311
Leven Addiction Service on 01389 812018
HEAR Out of Hours Service on 0141 952 8815
Patient Advice and Information
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There is no way that you can tell if your heroin is likely to cause infection.
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Please be cautious if your batch of heroin is darker in colour than normal.
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If you must inject, do not inject into muscle or under the skin: make sure you hit the vein – your blood is better at killing bacteria than your muscle.
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Do not share needles, syringes, cookers/spoons or other ‘works’ with other drug users.
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Use as little citric acid as possible to dissolve the heroin. A lot of citric acid can damage the muscle or the body under the skin, and this damage gives bacteria a better chance to grow.
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If you inject more than one type of drug, inject each at a separate place in your body and with clean works for each injection. This is important because certain drugs (e.g. cocaine) could give bacteria in heroin a better chance to grow.
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If you get a swelling, redness or pain where you have injected yourself, or pus collects under the skin, you should get a doctor to check it out immediately.
