EXPERTS LINK ADDICTS' DEATHS TO A BACTERIUM

LONDON--Scientists have pinpointed a highly toxic bacterium as the
cause of a mysterious illness that has killed at least 35 heroin
addicts, public health officials said Thursday.

The source of the illness, which first emerged in Glasgow and has been
found in other areas of Scotland, as well as in England and Dublin,
Ireland, had baffled health chiefs for more than a month. Sixty-four
infectious cases have been confirmed.

Scientists at the Public Health Laboratory Service in Cardiff, Wales,
and experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in
Atlanta identified the culprit as a form of the clostridium bacterium.

Experts believe that a batch of heroin probably was accidentally
contaminated when the drug was being mixed with other substances
before sale.

Dr. Jai Lingappa of the CDC said scientists still need to clarify how
the bacterium contributed to the illness. "We also want to learn more
about why these people became sick and others didn't," he said.

Clostridium novyi Type A is commonly found in soil and dust and can
occur in animal droppings. It grows only when there is no oxygen,
which makes it difficult to identify in a laboratory.