Health News

Anthrax pathogens in heroin claims fatalities

Milzbranderreger in heroin in Bavaria

23/06/2012

After more than ten years no anthrax virus occurred in Germany, it came in early June, the second death by anthrax. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in contaminated heroin, the pathogen probably came from the UK to Germany. In the local drug scene since 2009, such heroin in circulation. Of the so far five infected addicts in Germany are according to authorities "at least two died of it".

Anthrax occurs mainly in livestock
Anthrax is caused by the rod-shaped pathogen Bacillus anthracis. Normally, the bacterium primarily affects cloven-hoofed animals. Currently, it occurs mainly in livestock in certain regions of Africa and Asia. „People in industrialized countries are extremely rarely affected“, let the RKI communicate. Since the pathogen is not very resistant, the infectious disease can be treated well with antibiotics. However, these could only be successfully used if treatment was started early, says the RKI. Otherwise, the infection will quickly kill. Therefore, the RKI has called doctors to heightened vigilance. In severe skin swelling of the limbs physicians should consider early infection with anthrax organisms and initiate appropriate diagnostic procedures. „The problem is that the symptoms of an anthrax infection are difficult to differentiate from a normal skin or soft tissue infection“, said a spokeswoman for the RKI. In the city of Nuremberg, the addict, Georg Hopfengärtner, also said "a warning to the local drug scene about the contaminated heroin".

In Germany, the anthrax virus had disappeared until 2009 over ten years. Apart from the current five cases, the last case was registered in 1994.

Contaminated heroin with anthrax is probably from the UK
The recently announced anthrax cases occurred in the Regensburg area. The two affected fixers had gone to medical treatment for an inflamed area. The doctor initially suspected a blood poisoning. It would only have been found in further investigations that those affected became infected with anthrax. On June 5, according to RKI, one of the infected people died as a result of the disease. In both cases, those affected had injected heroin, which was contaminated with anthrax pathogens. The "other three cases of infection are already a long time back".

In the UK, 52 cases of heroin addicts had 52 anthrax infections by the end of 2010, the RKI reported. 17 people died. The anthrax virus found in Germany was identical to the British pathogen strain.

Anthrax pathogens were transported to heroin during transport
The question of how the pathogen got into heroin is currently being investigated by the Bavarian State Office for Criminal Investigation. It is believed that contamination with anthrax spores occurred during transport of the drug. „Anthrax is usually found in animals or animal skins. And it is known that heroin is transported in the countries of origin with pack animals or wrapped in animal skins“, reported a LKA spokesman. Because anthrax pathogens are rare, „There seems to be a very unfortunate coincidence here“.

In 2009, a large amount of contaminated heroin probably arrived in the UK, from which later a smaller part of Germany reached. The LKA ruled out that contamination of the drug with anthrax pathogens was deliberate. „So far we have no evidence“, said the LKA spokesman.

Anthrax as a biological weapon
In some countries, anthrax spores are viewed by terrorists and the military as a biological weapon, although bioweapons are outlawed worldwide as they can easily be used as a means of mass killing. In the late 1970s, accidental release of anthrax spores from a military laboratory for biological weapons occurred in the former Soviet Union. The incident called for paid human lives.

According to the London Times, around 450 laboratories around the world are working to develop anthrax, smallpox, plague and cholera pathogens, which can be turned into invisible and odorless toxins in the form of the finest powder in shells or fired from aircraft be sprayed as an aerosol and cause the death of millions of people. (ag)