Mystery drug death toll reaches 35

A total of 35 addicts have now died

Five drug addicts in the north west of England have died from the same mystery illness that has claimed the lives of 15 people in Glasgow.

Health officials revealed that two heroin users in Liverpool and three from Manchester have died over the last month from the unidentified illness, bringing the death toll to 35 in Britain and Ireland.

No definitive cause of death has been identified

NHS spokeswoman

The NHS Executive North West said it had identified nine cases in the two cities over the past month, and in five cases the drug user has died.

It confirmed the new cases were being linked to the fatalities in Scotland, a further eight in Dublin, and seven in other parts of England.

Specimens from the most recent Glasgow cases are being tested at specialist laboratories in the UK and at the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.

It is suspected the mystery illness is caused by anaerobic bacteria which live in the absence of oxygen and the specimens are being tested for this.

The illness is linked to heroin that is injected into muscle or other tissue, rather than into a vein.

Early symptoms are swelling or inflammation around the site of the injection, followed by abscesses that worsen over several days.

Toxic shock

The patient then usually suffers toxic shock and is taken into intensive care.

An NHS spokeswoman said: "Although various organisms have been found in tissue samples, no definitive cause of death has been identified."

Professor John Ashton, regional director of public health, said: "We are very concerned that the infection has appeared in the north west.

"As yet, we have found no pattern either in where the patients come from or in their supply of heroin.

"We are working closely with the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre and our colleagues in Scotland and Ireland to identify the cause of the illness."

He said local arrangements had been put in place at all hospitals in the north-west and GPs and other health workers had been provided with information.