TWO more Scots and seven people in England and Wales have now died from the unidentified illness which is killing heroin addicts, public health officials said yesterday.
A total of 31 heroin injectors in the UK and Ireland have now died in the outbreak, which has baffled drugs specialists. One warned last night that a solution might not be available for some time.
Greater Glasgow Health Board said yesterday that a further five cases of illness had been diagnosed this week. One victim has died, as had one of the Glasgow addicts who was already ill.
The number of Glasgow fatalities has now risen to 14, along with two from the Aberdeen area. A further fatal case in Dublin has taken the death tally there to eight. A single case is also seriously ill in a Lanarkshire hospital.
Officials from the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) say 14 cases of the illness have been found in injecting drug users in England and Wales, seven of whom have died. Officials are not yet saying where the cases occurred.
It will be at least a week before it is certain that the Scottish and Irish outbreaks are linked to the new ones in England and Wales. The first case occurred in England on April 24, and doctors have been urged to be vigilant for more cases.
American experts from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta are now helping to track down the cause of the deaths.
The condition seems to affect heroin addicts who inject the drug into the muscle or under the skin, rather than into a vein.
All are believed to have suffered severe inflammation around the site of injection, before falling seriously ill.
Victims suffer a septicemia-type illness and need intensive care, but some have died from multiple organ failure within hours. Research so far is pointing towards the theory that the bacterium or virus is one that grows without oxygen, which is why those injecting into muscle are most at risk.
Dr Noel Gill, of the PHLS, said: ''This does give cause for concern and what has been happening in Glasgow and Dublin is unusual.
''We are still looking at the cases in England and Wales and it will be five or six days before we know whether the cases are linked, but they do seem to have common factors.''
Dr Laurence Gruer, consultant in public health medicine with Greater Glasgow Health Board, said last night: ''It is disappointing that new cases continue to occur. However, we are optimistic that with the help of experts in the UK and Atlanta, we will pinpoint the cause of this terrible condition.
''While a rapid breakthrough is possible, previous investigations have shown that it can take a long time.''
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