RSOE EDIS - Situation Update No. 19 : United Kingdom - Epidemic Hazard

RSOE Emergency and Disaster Information Service Budapest, Hungary RSOE EDIS ALERTMAIL

Situation Update No. 19 Posted:2009-12-17, 17:29:49 [UTC] Ref.no.: EH-20091217-24200-GBR Situation Update No. 19 On 2010-01-12 at 05:29:30 [UTC] Event: Epidemic Hazard Location: United Kingdom Scotland Glasgow Number of Deads: 7 person(s) Number of Infected: 14 person(s) Situation: A seventh person with anthrax has died as infection among heroin users continues to spread around the country, health officials have confirmed. Another case has been confirmed in the NHS Fife area, bringing the total number of infected people to 14, Health Protection Scotland said. The latest person to die was from the NHS Tayside area, where one other person with anthrax has died. The outbreak, thought to be due to contaminated heroin, began in Glasgow. Four people with anthrax have died in the Glasgow area and one in the Forth valley region. Five people are being treated in hospital, while two have been discharged. Health officials urged heroin users to be alert but said the risk to the general public was low. Dr Colin Ramsay, consultant epidemiologist at Health Protection Scotland, said: "Cases of anthrax infection have now been confirmed in five health board areas across Scotland, indicating that heroin users all across the country need to be aware of the risks of a potentially contaminated supply. "I would urge all users to stop using heroin immediately and contact local drug support services for help in stopping. "If any heroin users do notice signs of infection, for example marked redness and swelling around an injection site or other signs of serious infection such as a high fever, they should seek urgent medical advice." It is thought contaminated heroin or a contaminated cutting agent mixed with the drug may be responsible for the anthrax infections. Heroin is often produced in countries where anthrax is more prevalent in animals. Bone meal, an animal product, is sometimes used as a cutting agent. The first victim, a man, died in Victoria Infirmary in Glasgow on 16 December. HPS said it was extremely rare for anthrax to be passed from person to person and there was no evidence of any airborne transmission in the current outbreak. Please DO NOT reply to this message: replies may be treated as errors and result in your subscription being deleted. If you have trouble or other queries, send email to havaria@rsoe.hu RSOE EDIS is operated by the National Association of Radio-Distress Signalling and Infocommunications (RSOE), Budapest, Hungary. Because of the complexity of this system and its dependence on other systems, we cannot be responsible for delays or failures in forwarding or transmission. You're receiving this AlertMail because you subscribed for the service. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. Contact: havaria@rsoe.hu