Anthrax Warning To Heroin Users

The Health Protection Agency and NHS London have issued a warning to heroin users after a second individual tested positive for anthrax in the capital, through what is believed to be a contaminated cutting agent present in the drug. HPA director Brian McCloskey stated that, until found otherwise, "it must be assumed that all heroin in London carries the risk of anthrax contamination", though he stressed that the risk to the general population was negligible, as person-to-person transmission is extremely rare. 27 people in Scotland have contracted anthrax through the contaminated drug since December; nine of them have since died.