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ANTHRAX, HUMAN, FATAL - UK (SCOTLAND)
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International Society for Infectious Diseases
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[1]
Date: Wed 16 Aug 2006
From: A-Lan Banks <A-Lan.Banks@thomson.com>
Source: BBC News Online [edited]
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/4797513.stm?ls>
A 50-year-old man is believed to have died from the 1st case of
anthrax in Scotland for almost 20 years. The man died in July 2006,
and later tests showed the acute infectious disease was the most
likely cause. NHS Borders said his home at Black Lodge in Stobs, near
Hawick in the Scottish Borders, had been cordoned off and an incident
control team set up. The victim worked with materials such as
untreated animal hides. He died on 8 Jul 2006 in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
After a series of tests at laboratories in England, experts
identified anthrax as the most likely cause for septicemia. Health
Protection Scotland said: "All appropriate precautions are being
taken to deal with the house and its contents," said a HPS
spokesperson. "NHS Borders is tracing the man's relatives and other
individuals known to have had access to the building. They are being
assessed for risk of infection, with appropriate action being taken
for each individual as required." The agency added: "Anthrax is a
difficult disease to contract and is not passed from person to
person. There is no reason to think that the members of the general
public are at any risk."
The last laboratory-confirmed case of anthrax in Scotland was in 1987
and affected a young girl who later recovered.
--
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[2]
Date: Wed 16 Aug 2006
From: Gareth Walsh <Gareth.Walsh@sunday-times.co.uk>
Source: Latest Press Association wire report [edited]
Artist's death linked to anthrax
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An artist who made drums out of animal skins is believed to have died
of anthrax, health officials said today [16 Aug 2006]. The
50-year-old man died last month [July 2006]. His home in the Scottish
Borders, where he lived alone, has been sealed off and an incident
control team set up. It is the 1st case of a human contracting
anthrax in Scotland for almost 20 years.
The man, who lived at Black Lodge, in Stobs, Hawick, worked with
materials such as untreated imported hides, and health officials
believe he may have caught the disease by breathing in spores. He was
a self-employed artist who made artifacts, including sculptures,
woodwork and decorative items. Health officials said he became ill in
early July 2006 and died on 8 Jul 2006 in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary
after developing septicemia. After a series of tests at laboratories
in England, experts identified anthrax as the most likely cause.
Health Protection Scotland (HPS) said the disease is not passed from
person to person but officials are trying to trace the man's
relatives and other individuals known to have had access to the
building. They have also asked anyone who visited his home before 17
Jul 2006 to contact NHS Borders for further information. Anyone who
experiences flu-like symptoms, a dry cough, or unusual skin lesions
for up to 2 months after their visit is being advised to seek further
medical advice as a matter of precaution.
An HPS spokesman said: "All appropriate precautions are being taken
to deal with the house and its contents. NHS Borders is tracing the
man's relatives and other individuals known to have had access to the
building. They are being assessed for risk of infection, with
appropriate action being taken for each individual as required." The
agency added: "Anthrax is a difficult disease to contract and is not
passed from person to person. There is no reason to think that
members of the general public are at any risk."
The last laboratory-confirmed case of anthrax in a human in Scotland
was in 1987 and involved a young girl who later recovered.
Bacteriologist Professor Hugh Pennington said he was very surprised
to hear someone could have died from anthrax in the UK. But he added
it would have been possible to have become infected from imported
animal hides. Prof. Pennington said: "It's very rare for people to
get infected from it, never mind to die from the disease. People
working in the wool industry used to be prone 50 years ago. The
disease occurs in the wild in Africa and Asia and used to get
imported. But it is now very uncommon in the UK due to better
cleansing procedures. If this man was working with imported animal
hides that had been infected, then that makes sense. The spores are
resistant and could have been on the skin." Prof. Pennington, who is
based at the University of Aberdeen, said the victim was likely to
have been infected either by breathing in spores or by getting the
organism into the blood via a wound. The disease is treatable with
antibiotics, he added.
In April this year [2006] a farm in Wales was sealed off after 2 cows
died of anthrax. Ynys Gau farm, at Gwaelod-y-Garth, near Cardiff, was
closed off to the public from 19 Apr 2006, when the animals suddenly
died. No humans were infected, and the farm was eventually reopened
20 days later after being given the all-clear from government vets.
Previous to that, the last case of the disease in Britain was in
2002, when a cow died at a farm in Wrexham, north Wales.
[Byline: Matt Dickinson, Scottish Press Association]
--
Gareth Walsh
Home News Reporter,
The Sunday Times
London
<Gareth.Walsh@sunday-times.co.uk>
[See the following links also:
Scots alert as anthrax kills city-born man (with a few more details)
<http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1198862006>
Man dies of anthrax in Scotland
<http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1198602006>
Man dies from anthrax
<http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=1198672006>
Thanks to Ed Lake, Gerald Walsh, Pablo Nart, Andrea Jones, Keith
Marshall and others for sending us this report. This seems to be a
repeat of the recent case involving a drum maker in New York city; he
survived. One hopes that the Health Protection Scotland authority
tries to get this isolate genomically identified and thus narrow down
where it came from. While the last known human death from anthrax in
the UK was in 1974, the most recent scare in Scotland was at a farm
in Lennoxtown, East Dunbartonshire, where a cow was suspected to have
died from the disease in 2002, but hadn't. Anthrax in the UK has
become truly very sporadic to essentially absent. Lately, when
livestock cases have occurred, it has been in relation to earth
moving on farms with long past cases or disturbance of river
sediments downstream of tanneries, now usually closed for some years.
- Mod.MHJ]
[see also:
Anthrax, inhalation, human - USA (PA,NY) (03) 20060227.0634
Anthrax, inhalational, human - USA (PA,NY) (02) 20060223.0586
Anthrax, inhalation, human - USA (PA, NY) ex Cote d'Ivoire 20060222.0574
2002
----
Anthrax, livestock - UK (Scotland): not 20021215.6069
Anthrax, livestock - UK (Scotland) 20021209.6022
1997
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Anthrax - UK (Scotland) (03) 19970905.1913
Anthrax - UK (Scotland) (02) 19970826.1799
Anthrax - UK (Scotland) 19970821.1751]
.................................jw/mhj/msp/jw
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