Police, medics tackle heroin outbreak

Injecting drug users have been taking ill

Glasgow police are joining forces with health officials to investigate a rise in the number of serious illnesses being reported by drug users in the city.

Strathclyde Police has opened a dedicated incident room following the death of a drug addict from a rare "flesh-eating" bug, necrotising fasciitis.

Officers will work alongside staff from Greater Glasgow and Argyll and Clyde Health Boards who alerted police to an outbreak of serious illnesses among injectors.

Two other addicts in the area have the potentially deadly bug and three other users are being treated for serious complaints - two have blood stream infections and one has a severe abscess.

A spokeswoman said officers at the incident room in Glasgow's southside, would be trying to gain information on the supply of the drugs in the area in a bid to determine how the illnesses are being spread.

Dr Jim McMenamin, consultant in public health at Greater Glasgow Health Board, said: "We are continuing to work closely with a number of agencies to investigate the possible causes of these conditions.

"The common link is that all of the cases have been drug injectors."

More than 30 heroin users, including 18 in and around Glasgow, were killed by clostridium bacteria last year.

A special outbreak team from both health boards is due to meet again next week to reassess the current situation.