Drug deaths link confirmed

Users injecting into muscle have fallen ill

Health experts believe the illness which has caused 19 deaths among injecting drug addicts in Scotland and Dublin shares the same cause.

The death toll in Glasgow has risen to 12, with the death of a man four days ago and officials said two deaths in Aberdeen could also be linked to the illness.

The total number of reported cases in Scotland now stands at 26. In Dublin, 14 addicts have been afflicted, seven of whom have died.

Public health officials in both countries held a telephone conference at the weekend, which concluded that the two outbreaks have the same cause.

'Identical' pattern

Dr Laurence Gruer, from Greater Glasgow Health Board, said: "Much of the evidence points towards the Glasgow cases being caused by a contaminant of some of the heroin recently available in certain parts of the city.

"From the information we have received from Dublin, the pattern of cases there seems almost identical."

The world-renowned Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has been called in to help identify the cause.

Dr Laurence Gruer: Pattern seems to be identical

Tissue specimens have been sent to the centers and staff have travelled to Glasgow and Dublin to lend their expertise to the investigation.

Dr Joe Barry, from the Eastern Regional Health Authority in Ireland, said: "We agree that we seem to be dealing with the same phenomenon in both cities and we very much value our collaboration with investigators in Scotland.

"The whole episode highlights the importance of international networking in general and the European Communicable Disease Early Warning System in particular."

The Glasgow board has discounted several theories for the deaths, including a link to anthrax.

New drugs website

The victims were addicts who injected heroin into muscle rather than veins.

Addicts then developed severe inflammation around the site of the injection, followed by the development of shock, collapse and in some cases death.

In Glasgow, 17 of the cases involved women, including eight of the dead. In Dublin, only three of the cases were women, one of whom died.

Health chiefs in Aberdeen confirmed that they have been investigating whether two deaths in the city were linked to the mystery illness.

Cases in Aberdeen being investigated

A spokeswoman for Grampian Health Board said public health officials in Aberdeen have been liaising with colleagues in Glasgow over the matter.

The latest drugs fatality in the north east, a woman believed to be in her mid-20s, died in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Executive has launched a website designed to act as a focal point for efforts to add to the understanding of the nation's drugs problem.

Deputy Justice Minister, Angus MacKay, also announced the first Scottish study to assess the number of injecting drug users and gauge the rate of Hepatitis C infection among them.

The site can be found at Drug Misuse in Scotland.