 Clostridium botulinum was found in heroin |
An investigation has been launched after three drug users were treated for suspected botulism in Glasgow. One man is in a serious condition in hospital, a woman is recovering and a second man was said to be "clinically well" after the provisional diagnosis.
NHS Greater Glasgow is working with police to establish whether the cases are linked and whether a contaminated batch of heroin is to blame.
A fourth case of the potentially-fatal disease has been confirmed in Aberdeen.
A spokesman for NHS Grampian was unable to give any details about the sufferer, or whether the person was receiving hospital treatment.
However, he said the case was not believed to be linked to the three others in Glasgow.
NHS Greater Glasgow said that the first two cases came to light on 8 October, with the third being reported the following week. All three showed evidence of infections associated with "muscle popping" - where drugs are injected straight into the muscle or under the skin.
Dr Helene Irvine, consultant in public health medicine with NHS Greater Glasgow, warned drug users against this "extremely dangerous" method.
"In this instance it is the probable route for the bacterium entering the body," she said.
Paralytic illness
"We are currently working with the police in an attempt to establish whether the cases became infected due to a batch of heroin that was contaminated with clostridium botulinum, the bacteria that causes botulism.
"We are also trying to establish if these cases are linked."
Botulism is a rare but serious paralytic illness which can be fatal.
The symptoms include double or blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth and muscle weakness.
 A warning has been issued to heroin users |
If left untreated, it may progress to cause paralysis of the arms, legs, body and respiratory muscles. If the disease is caught early enough it can be blocked using an antitoxin.
In 2000, 23 people in Scotland died after it was believed they injected heroin contaminated with clostridium novyi.
The bacterium believed to have caused the three recent cases is from the same family, but has a different clinical presentation.
One-Minute World News 
News services
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
We are currently working with the police in an attempt to establish whether the cases became infected due to a batch of heroin that was contaminated with clostridium botulinum 
