17/08/2012

Anthrax Outbreak Feared After Death In Blackpool

A drug user in Blackpool has died of anthrax, raising concerns of a second outbreak of death and serious illness among injecting heroin users in Britain.

Last month another drug user was hospitalised in Lanarkshire, Scotland after contracting anthrax.

Health watchdogs are now trying to establish whether the incidents are linked to a pan-European outbreak suspected of being caused by contaminated heroin.

Since early June, three cases have been reported in Germany, two in Denmark and one in France.

Anthrax among drug users was considered to be very rare – before an outbreak between 2009-10, mainly in Scotland, only one previous case had been reported, in Norway in 2000.

Fourteen people died out of 119 confirmed cases in Scotland in the last outbreak.

In England, there were five confirmed cases, including four deaths, with one in Blackpool, 24-year-old Shane Brown.

Although they have not officially been linked, European health experts say the recent cases could have come from the same batch of contaminated heroin in the 2009-10 outbreak.

(H)


Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

25 July 2012
Confirmed Case of Anthrax In Lanarkshire
It has been confirmed that a drug user in Lanarkshire is being treated for anthrax. Highlighting that anthrox cannot be passed from person to person, the area's health authority said the patient was being treated at one of its hospitals and was in a critical but stable condition.
18 December 2003
Cot death expert to face professional conduct inquiry
The expert witness at the centre of a number of high-profile cases brought against women charged with killing their infants is to face a professional conduct inquiry.
18 April 2013
Measles Outbreak Now Over 800 Cases
The ongoing measles outbreak in Swansea has now increased to 808 cases. 43 more cases of the disease have been reported since Tuesday, Public Health Wales (PHW) has said. An MMR vaccination campaign was launched in schools in parts of mid and south Wales, but local health officials have said the campaign had got off to a "disappointing" start.
09 April 2013
Swansea Measles Outbreak At Over 600 Cases
A measles outbreak in Swansea has reached 620 cases, as health officials warn there is no sign of the epidemic coming to an end. Latest figures show around 15 to 20 new cases being reported every day, and an increase of 32 cases last Friday alone.
26 September 2005
More cases found in E. coli outbreak
There have been calls for a public inquiry into the E. coli outbreak in south Wales where the number of cases has reached 115. Four children are being treated for acute kidney problems, which is a known complication of infection with the toxin producing 0157 strain of E. coli.