SEVEN HEROIN USERS DIE OF UNKNOWN ILLNESS IN DUBLIN

The Eastern Regional Health Authority has said seven heroin users have
died since the beginning of the month due to an "unidentified severe
illness". A total of 14 heroin users were admitted to hospital during
this period.

Those who died had abscesses on their legs, arms and buttocks,
according to gardai, which may have been due to injecting heroin into
muscles instead of veins. But it is still not known how this could
have led to the deaths.

The health authorities have said the deaths might have been linked to
contaminated heroin.

On Wednesday, the Eastern Regional Health Authority said five drug
users had died among 10 admissions to hospital but last night, it said
these figures had increased with new information.

The authority said the hospital admissions and deaths appeared to be
similar to a recent cluster of heroin deaths in Glasgow, where 11
people have died.

Mr Andrew Horne, of Turning Point, the largest drugs centre in
Scotland, said the people who died in Glasgow were also admitted to
hospital with abscesses. Eight of the 11 who died were women and Mr
Horne said this may be due to the fact that longterm women drug users
often lost the ability to inject into veins more quickly than men. He
added that some of the women who died attended the same hostel in
Glasgow and might have used the same heroin.

The Eastern Regional Health Authority said it was advising users who
noticed an abscess, redness or swelling at the area of injecting to
seek medical help immediately. It also advised heroin users to seek
medical help if they developed any unusual or unexpected effects.

The authority has provided emergency methadone treatment vans in
Blanchardstown and Ballymun, where no such treatment facilities exist.
It said it was working with the Garda, the National Disease
Surveillance Centre in Dublin and the Scottish authorities on a review
of the situation. The authority added it was trying to identify common
risk factors in the deaths of the heroin users.

Mr Tony Geoghegan, of the Merchants Quay Project, the voluntary drugs
service which offers a needle exchange facility, said heroin users
were aware of the situation but they had continued to inject heroin.
"Scared doesn't come into it when people are looking for drugs," he
said.

Mr Vincent Doherty, of the South Inner City Drugs Task Force, also
said people were worried about the deaths but were continuing to take
drugs.

"There is a temporary hype among users. Is it going to stop them
buying heroin on O'Connell Street this evening? Is it going to stop
them injecting? Not a chance."

Fine Gael TD Mr Gay Mitchell said there needed to be a more serious
response to the problem. He said the Government needed a co-ordinated
response from the Departments of Health, Justice, Tourism and Sport
and Foreign Affairs. "There needs to be a statement setting down what
the Government are doing and what are they are going to do to stop
this from happening again," said Mr Mitchell.

He added that heroin users should be contacted in a more effective way
to warn them of the dangers. "They don't read newspapers or listen to
the radio. We need to go where they hang out and tell them. I don't
feel the response is meeting the need."

Mr Tony Gregory TD said gardai on the north of Dublin city were aware
of an increase in availability of heroin of varying strength and purity.