FLESH EATING DISEASE WARNING FOR DRUG ADDICTS

Drug users in the west of Scotland have been warned to be on the alert
following the diagnosis of a rare and potentially fatal illness which
enters the body through broken skin.

Two cases of necrotising fasciitis - more commonly known as the
flesh-eating disease - have come to light in the past week during routine
checks on drug addicts, according to the Greater Glasgow and Argyll & Clyde
health boards.

Both cases surfaced during surveillance work by hospitals, GPs, and
drug-user services set up in the wake of an outbreak of the clostridium
bacterium last year.

More than 40 heroin users in the UK and Ireland died after being infected
by clostridium, with the largest number of cases concentrated in Glasgow.

In June of last year, the clostridium novyi was isolated in addicts in what
was thought to be the first time the bacterium, found in soil and animal
faeces and a well known cause of severe infection in domestic animals, had
caused an outbreak of infection in drug injectors.

Police believed at the time that heroin may have been contaminated while
being cut by dealers to add bulk to the raw drug.

Doctors throughout Scotland treated around 60 addicts who developed
symptoms associated with the bug.

Dr Jim McMenamin, consultant in public health at Greater Glasgow Health
Board, said of the necrotising fasciitis outbreak: "This illness is
reminiscent of the outbreak of severe infection that affected drug
injectors last year.

"For that reason we have taken the unusual step of informing medical
services and drug agencies at the earliest opportunity of our
investigations before we are certain that a widespread problem exists.

"We would advise drug users not to inject and if their addiction is such
that they must take heroin, it should be smoked and not injected."

About 1000 cases of necrotising fasciitis are diagnosed in the UK each
year, with about 60 to 80 proving fatal.

The disease commonly begins in an established wound or broken skin before
penetrating the tissues beneath the skin, causing blisters to form.

Flu-like symptoms and diarrhoea can also occur, with patients developing
toxic shock syndrome as the disease spreads to the underlying tissues.

If caught early it can be treated with antibiotics, but more drastic
surgery can involve the removal of skin and even limbs to halt the spread
of the bacteria.