31/10/2008

Drum Maker Treated For Anthrax Inhalation

An east-London drum maker is in intensive care after inhaling anthrax spores while handling imported animal skins.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) confirmed the man came into contact with the animal hides at his workshop in Hackney and his flat has been sealed off for examination.

As part of the investigation to identify where the anthrax originated from, the Agency will be carrying out tests at the workshop next week.

Seven other people who may have been in contact with the hides have been treated with antibiotics as a precautionary measure.

Professor Nigel Lightfoot, the HPA's Chief Adviser, said: "We have stressed to all residents throughout this incident that there is no risk to their health as a result of the case of anthrax, or the testing that will be carried out.

"The patient's property is currently secured and there is no-one living there."

He added: "It is important to stress that it is the making of animal skin drums that is the risk for coming into contact with anthrax rather than playing or handling drums."

A spokesman for Homerton University Hospital, in east London, confirmed the man is a patient in its intensive care unit.

(JM)

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

03 November 2008
Drum Maker Dies After Inhaling Anthrax
A drum maker has died after inhaling anthrax fumes from imported animal skins. Fernando Gomez, 35, from Hackney, east London, died in the intensive care unit of the Homerton University Hospital. He had been in hospital for more than a week.
17 November 2008
Anthrax Found At Dead Musician's Workshop
Traces of anthrax were found at a workshop belonging to a musician who died after contracted the disease, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) has confirmed. Fernando Gomez, 35, died on 2 November after he inhaled the spores at his workshop in Dalston, east London. Testing was carried out at the victim's workshop, where animal skin drums were made.
16 August 2006
Man dies from anthrax in Scotland
A 50-year-old man has died from anthrax in the first case to occur in Scotland for almost 20 years. The man, who has been named locally as Christopher 'Pascal' Norris, died in July after suffering from septicaemia. However, later tests revealed that anthrax was the most likely cause of his illness.
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.
22 June 2015
Man Jailed For Smuggling Heroin In Cat Transportation Crates
A man caught smuggling heroin inside pet transportation crates has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years, following an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA). 43-year-old Scott Parker, a London-born dual national living in Benoni, Gauteng, South Africa, was arrested at the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre on Friday 21 November 2014.