Anthrax Cases on the Rise in Europe

By Tom Jennings

WARNING posters were last night being put up across Oxford after a heroin user injected a batch contaminated with anthrax.
 
Drug organisations in the city were last night also talking to addicts directly about the dangers involved with the lethal bacteria.
 
Anthrax-contaminated heroin killed two people in Blackpool in August and September and two are recovering after injecting it in Wales and Scotland.
 
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has warned more cases may follow and said there is an “ongoing outbreak” across Europe, with 12 cases identified since June.
 

The Oxford victim is believed to be a woman from the Rose Hill area, although this has not been confirmed.
 
Former heroin addict Emma Cox, 24, of Cowley, said: “It is terrifying that a contaminated batch is out there. It is scary to think your life is on the line.
 
“I think current addicts will be more alert about who they get it off but I do not think they will stop taking it.”
 
Glenda Daniels, service manager of drug treatment group Oxfordshire User Team, said: “It is a concern and everyone is very worried about it.
 
“Most of the cases of anthrax contamination have been in the north and it is worrying that it seems to have spread to Oxford.
 
 
“We are warning heroin users in Oxford they need to be careful.”

She said the contamination could have come from anywhere in the world, with heroin being handled by up to 15 people before reaching Oxford.
 
She said: “If people have to take heroin, they need to make sure they get it from someone they know and keep an eye out for anything that concerns them when they are preparing it for use.”
 
Lou Everatt, manager of drug treatment group LASARS (Local Area Single Assessment & Referral Service), said: “There is no safe way of taking heroin.
 
“To reduce the risk, people can stop use or book themselves into a drug treatment service, not share needles or syringes and be aware of the symptoms of anthrax.”
 
Warning posters are being put up in drug treatment centres and in chemists that run needle exchanges.
 
Oxfordshire DAAT (Drug and Alcohol Action Team) spokesman Emily MacDonald said: “We are aware of the situation and are working closely with the HPA to ensure our provider staff are extra vigilant. They are cascading information and talking to their service users who inject drugs about the risk of anthrax infection.”
 
HPA drug injections expert Fortune Ncube said: “It is possible that further cases may be seen in people who inject heroin. Anthrax spores could be a source of infection if injected, smoked or snorted – there is no safe route for consuming drugs that may be contaminated.”
 
Dr Ncube said anthrax infections could be treated with antibiotics, if treatment was started early, and said users needed to alert medical professionals if they show symptoms.
 
 
SYMPTOMS OF DEADLY BACTERIA

Anthrax is a very rare but serious bacterial infection caused by the organism bacillus anthracis.
 Anthrax spores can survive for many years and drug users can become infected by injecting or smoking contaminated drugs.
 

Symptoms can present themselves within one to seven days and early identification can be difficult as symptoms are similar to other diseases.
 

Symptoms from injecting heroin include swelling and redness at an injection site, abscess or ulcer at an injection site, often with marked swelling, septicemia and meningitis.
 

For those inhaling heroin, symptoms begin with flu-like illness, followed by severe breathing difficulties and shock two to six days later.
 

Untreated disease is usually fatal but prompt treatment with antibiotics and, where appropriate, surgery, can manage the bacteria. oxfordtimes