Anthrax in heroin kills Blackpool man

  • Thread starter Deleted member 14625
  • Start date
D D

Deleted member 14625

Guest
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/8508631.stm
Health officials have confirmed a heroin user, who tested positive for anthrax, has died.

Shane Brown, 24 and from Blackpool, was taken to the town's Victoria Hospital on 28 January and died on 1 February.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA), NHS Blackpool and police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death and the source or supply of the drugs.

A 36-year-old Blackpool woman, arrested on suspicion of supplying or offering drugs, has been bailed until 2 April.

A 35-year-old man, from Liverpool, arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and a 21-year-old woman from Blackpool, arrested on suspicion of production or being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs, were released without charge.

'Alert to risks'

This is the second case of anthrax seen in an injecting drug user in England, the first announced in London on 5 February.

Similar cases have been seen in Scotland since December 2009.

Professor Qutub Syed, from the HPA, said: "I'd like to reassure people that the risk to the general population, including close family members of the deceased, is negligible.

"It is extremely rare for anthrax to be spread from person to person and there has been no evidence of a significant risk of infection being passed on in the current situation in Scotland."

In a statement from NHS Blackpool, it said while public health investigations were ongoing, "it must be assumed that all heroin in the north west carries the risk of anthrax contamination."

Heroin users were warned to be alert to the risks and to seek urgent medical advice if they experience signs of infection, as early antibiotic treatment can be lifesaving.

Bacterial infection

Signs of infection include redness or excessive swelling, at or near an injection site, a high temperature, chills or a severe headache or breathing difficulties.

It urged them "to cease taking heroin by any route, if at all possible".

Anthrax is a very rare but serious bacterial infection caused by the organism Bacillus anthracis.

The disease occurs most often in wild and domestic animals in Asia, Africa and parts of Europe; humans are rarely infected.

Dependent on the dose and route of exposure, the symptoms may develop within a week of taking heroin.
Click to expand...

Makes you wonder doesn't it?

I think one of the primary reasons the west are fighting in Afganistan is to gain control of the poppy trade, or at least give it to people who can be trusted more than the Taliban. If we were truly fighting the war on terror we'd be in Pakistan which is the proper hotbed of breeding terrorists. But that's not to say the Taliban are a nice bunch. Because what I'm thinking is that they may be contaminating the heroin that has been killing people for a few years now.

Or am I putting two and two together and getting five?
 
Matty said:
I think you're putting 2 and 2 together and getting blancmange.
Click to expand...

PMSL

Excellent analysis Matty

:)<br /><br />-- Fri Aug 17, 2012 12:01 pm --<br /><br />
Challenger1978 said:
Good smackheads are vile scum, kill the lot of the bastards and the world would be a better place.
Click to expand...

Glad we're not generalising and stereotyping on here
 
An addict is an addict, whether they're addicted to fast food, beer or heroin. I'm not going to celebrate the death of a 'junkie' just because they're seen as scum - they're still somebody's son or daugfhter and have just made the wrong choice in life.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top
✖
  AdBlock Detected
Bluemoon relies on advertising to pay our hosting fees. Please support the site by disabling your ad blocking software to help keep the forum sustainable. Thanks.