Heroin anthrax in Scotland and Germany
In December2009 Glasgow (Scotland, United Kingdom) and German Aachen district reported simultaneous anthrax breakout, caused byAfghan heroin, contaminated with Bacillus anthracis spores. Clinical picture depended on the spot and route of administration of heroin. Symptoms of a disease mostly appeared on the second day after the drug’s administration, but not later than on the 4-th day. Clinical observations data and experimental models data showed that anthrax, caused by subcutaneous administration of B. anthracis contaminated heroin, may appear as inflammation and abscesses at the spot of injection, followed by intense limb swelling and body cavity effusions. When administered intravenous anthrax contaminated heroin may cause primary sepsis along with the symptoms of growing toxic shock syndrome with plentiful cutaneous and internal hemorrhages of different rate and involvement of brain tunic. Fatal case is possible within several hours. Typical pathologicoanatomic findings are serosanguineous polyadenitis, plethora and dystrophic degeneration of parenchymatous organs, and pulmonary hemorrhage. The origin of B. anthracis spores in heroin has not been found out.