Second heroin related anthrax death in Glasgow, UK

A second heroin user has died in Glasgow, UK, from anthrax. Health officials in the city confirmed that the man, who had been treated at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, had tested positive for anthrax.

Last week a man died at the city's Victoria Infirmary, his death was confirmed as a result of contracting anthrax. The man was a heroin user. At the same hospital a third person, a woman, thought to be infected with anthrax is currently being treated. A fourth case of anthrax poisoning has been confirmed in Lanarkshire. The drug-injecting heroin user, is being treated at Monklands District General Hospital. Another drug user's death is currently being investigated although anthrax has not been confirmed in that case yet. Consultant on public health medicine, Dr Syed Ahmed said, "There have been no new drug injecting heroin users with infections admitted to hospitals in the west of Scotland since the weekend. I urge all drug injecting heroin users to be extremely alert and to seek urgent medical advice if they experience an infection. Drug injecting is extremely risky and dangerous. The possible presence of a batch of heroin contaminated with anthrax makes drug injecting even riskier and even more dangerous." The acute bacterial infection, anthrax, is more common among cattle, sheep and goat or other hoofed animals and is less common in humans. Humans usually suffer after inhaling or ingesting anthrax spores. It cannot be passed on through human to human contact. Fifty-year-old Christopher Norris was the last anthrax death in Scotland back in 2006. The craftsman, who lived near Hawick in the Borders, was a craftsman who often made drums and used materials like untreated animal hides. He was thought to have inhaled the spores.