Anthrax - Blackpool, England

I had no idea this news had broken when I made the earlier post, odd coincidence really. Sorry to "go on" about it ...

From BBC @ 15:00 today, HPA and NHS Blackpool :-

Anthrax Case in Blackpool Confirmed by HPA

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) and NHS Blackpool can confirm they are investigating the death of a drug injecting heroin user in Blackpool. The investigation has confirmed that the cause of death was anthrax following positive test results.

This is the second case of anthrax seen in an injecting drug user in England, the first announced in London on 5 February.  Similar cases have been seen in Scotland since December 2009 with nineteen cases having been confirmed and one in Germany. Similarities to the cases in Scotland suggest that the heroin, or a contaminated cutting agent mixed with the heroin, is the likely source of infection.

Dr Arif Rajpura, Director of Public Health from NHS Blackpool, said:” While public health investigations are ongoing, it must be assumed that all heroin in the North West carries the risk of anthrax contamination. I urge all heroin users to be extremely alert to the risks and to seek urgent medical advice if they experience signs of infection such as redness or excessive swelling at or near an injection site, or other symptoms of general illness such a high temperature, chills or a severe headache or breathing difficulties, as early antibiotic treatment can be lifesaving.

“Heroin users are strongly advised to cease taking heroin by any route, if at all possible, and to seek help from their local drug treatment services. This is a very serious infection for drug users and prompt treatment is crucial.

“Drug injecting is an extremely risky and dangerous practice and users are vulnerable to a wide range of infectious diseases, both from the action of piercing the skin, as well as contaminants in the drugs that they use.” 

Symptoms (from HPA) :-

What are the symptoms in humans?

There are two main forms of anthrax infection: cutaneous and inhalation.

In cutaneous (skin) anthrax, a lesion appears on the skin, often on the head, neck, forearms or hands. This lesion starts as a small bump and develops into a characteristic ulcer with a black centre. It is rarely painful, but if untreated the infection can spread to cause blood poisoning. If untreated, the disease can be fatal in 5% of cases, but with prompt antibiotic treatment recovery occurs.

Inhalation anthrax is normally much less common. Symptoms begin with a flu-like illness followed by respiratory difficulties and shock after 2-6 days.

Injection anthrax - since December 2009, a signficant number of drug users in Scotland have been found to have anthrax infection. it is thought that they contracted the infection from using heroin contaminated by anthrax spores. Further information

Intestinal anthrax is a very rare form of food poisoning, and results in severe gut disease, fever and blood poisoning.

Inhalation and intestinal anthrax are serious and can often be fatal. They can be treated effectively with antibiotics if identified early enough, but this can be difficult as the initial symptoms are similar to other illnesses.

and here, also from HPA :-

Anthrax in drug users appears to be very rare; prior to the current outbreak in Scotland, only one previous case had been reported in Norway in 2000.

Q5. How long can you have the infection before developing symptoms?

This is dependent on the dose and route of exposure and may vary from one day to eight weeks. However, symptoms usually develop within 48 hours with inhalation anthrax and 1-7 days with cutaneous anthrax. It is not known exactly how long symptoms can take to develop following the use of contaminated heroin, however in most cases during the current outbreak, symptoms started within 1 to 7 days of taking heroin.

Q6. What are the symptoms?

Early identification of anthrax can be difficult as the initial symptoms are similar to other illnesses.

Symptoms vary according to the route of infection:

Anthrax in drug users

Drug users may become infected with anthrax when heroin or the cutting agent mixed with heroin has become contaminated with anthrax spores. This could be a source of infection if injected, smoked or snorted. The clinical presentation is likely to vary according to the way in which the heroin is taken and might include:

• Swelling and redness at an injection site, which may or may not be painful
• Abscess or ulcer at an injection site often with marked swelling (oedema)
• Septicaemia (blood poisoning)
• Meningitis
• Symptoms of inhalational anthrax (see below)

Cutaneous anthrax - Local skin involvement after direct contact.

• Commonly seen on hands, forearms, head and neck. The lesion is usually single
• 1-7 days after exposure a raised, itchy, inflamed pimple appears followed by a papule that turns vesicular (into a blister). Extensive oedema or swelling accompanies the lesion – the swelling tends to be much greater than would normally be expected for the size of the lesion and this is usually PAINLESS
• The blister then ulcerates and then 2-6 days later the classical black eschar develops
• If left untreated the infection can spread to cause blood poisoning

Inhalation anthrax - symptoms begin with a flu-like illness (fever, headache, muscle aches and non-productive cough) followed by severe respiratory difficulties and shock 2-6 days later. Untreated disease is usually fatal, and treatment must be given as soon as possible to reduce mortality.

Intestinal anthrax is contracted by the ingestion of contaminated carcasses and results in severe disease which can be fatal. This is found in some parts of the world where the value of an animal dying unexpectedly outweighs any fears of contracting the disease.

Q7. Can anthrax be treated?

Cutaneous anthrax can be readily treated and cured with antibiotics. Mortality is often high with inhalation and gastrointestinal anthrax, since successful treatment depends on early recognition of the disease.

Prompt treatment with antibiotics and, where appropriate, surgery is important in the management of anthrax related to drug use.

Q8. How is anthrax spread?

A person can get anthrax if they inject, inhale, ingest or come into direct physical contact (touching) with the spores from the bacteria. These spores can be found in the soil or in contaminated drugs. It is extremely rare for anthrax to spread from person-to-person. Airborne transmission from one person to another does not occur; there have been one or two reports of spread from skin anthrax but this is very, very rare.

Q9. How do drug users become infected with anthrax?

Heroin or the cutting agent mixed with heroin may become contaminated with anthrax spores from the environment. This could be a source of infection if injected, smoked, or snorted.

(Q&As courtesy of Health Protection Scotland)

The swine flu hotline no longer exists.
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Anthrax - Europe

This is just a collection of odds and ends resulting from digging around the internet. These snippets, which are presented in no particular order and without much comment, have been sitting in isolated non-posts in the drafts folder. Haven't a clue if they're of any use, haven't a clue if they're relevant to anybody or not, but better out here than tucked away.

It seems that there was a problem in Germany in December. (from Reuters, 23rd January)

The eighth victim was a 42-year-old man in Germany who died of anthrax infection in mid-December after injecting drugs, authorities said.

"It is now suspected that heroin with infectious anthrax spores (and possibly other psychoactive substances that can be injected) is in circulation in Europe," the health ministry in Berlin said in a statement.

Anthrax infection occurs most often in wild and domestic animals in Asia, Africa and parts of Europe.

Humans are rarely infected but touching contaminated hides or hair can cause skin lesions. If the bacillus is inhaled, it can take hold quickly and by the time symptoms show up, it usually is too late for successful treatment with antibiotics.

The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), which monitors health in the European Union, said on its website that further anthrax cases were possible.

"The occurrence of 15 confirmed cases, including 8 deaths in a 5-week period is unusual and unexpected," it said.

"Considering the complex international distribution chain of heroin, and the clustering in time of cases in Scotland and Germany, the exposure to a contaminated batch of heroin distributed in several EU Member States is possible."

The ECDC reports (3rd February):

In Germany, an epidemiological investigation was launched by the Robert Koch Institute, which includes distribution of information to hospitals, GPs, emergency departments, microbiologists and low threshold facilities was launched in order to raise awareness, gain more thorough information and search for suspected cases.
The joint ECDC / EMCDDA risk assessment comes to the following conclusions:

• what is currently known is that there is likely a contaminated batch of heroin circulating in the MS.
• the anthrax contaminated batches of drugs are most likely due to accidental contamination and not deliberate release. There is a complex international distribution chain of heroin, and the clustering in time of cases in Scotland and Germany, the exposure to a contaminated batch of heroin distributed in several EU Member States is possible. Therefore, it is likely that additional cases will still be identified in the near future, in the UK and potentially in Germany and other Member States.
• It can also be assumed, that since anthrax infections in drug users is not a frequent event, persons who deal in the chain of procedures for drug analysis in laboratories may not suspect anthrax to be present in samples that they perform routine tests on.
• The epidemiological data suggests that infection via inhalational route with anthrax-contaminated material is possible.

ECDC and key partners have already identified steps to take to further monitor and act in this situation.

Another source locates the German case in North-Rhine-Westphalia.

Updates on the HPS Scotland site suggest no new cases, same with HPA - which can only be good news.

A piece, on a Biosecurity blog in USA The site is meant for "clinicians who are interested in biodefense" so it might not have been such a good idea to use the link, especially as none of the Rigbys are either clinicians or specialists, but no matter, it's still interesting.

Big Bear says France is worried by anthrax outbreak, the same is mentioned on Bio-prep watch, which is a Chicago based site.

"StoptheDrugWar" (US based) 22nd January (the whole article is worth reading).

drug reform and drug user activists are reporting a cluster of nine suspicious heroin-related deaths in Coimbra, Portugal, although it is unclear at this point whether they are linked to anthrax-tainted heroin.

Can't find out if these were linked to anthrax contamination or not, but this forum suggests it was overdose rather than contamination - so perhaps no need to panic.

Nothing at all on the EMCDDA (European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction)
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Scanners

Back to this again

all images will be destroyed after the individual has walked away from the scanner.

This might be very careful use of language - meaning that images resulting from scans of those who "walk away" are deleted, but there is a means of storing scans that show something suspicious. Logically there has to be - otherwise there would be no proof (evidence) that a scan has shown an irregularity that's used as a reason for either a more detailed search, an individual being banned from a flight, or even arrest and prosecution.

Same sort of principal as when an officious person says pictures on a digital camera must be deleted - without the pictures there is no evidence of wrongdoing, so there could never be either a prosecution or a defence.

As for the 'child porn laws' mentioned by 418 it seems that there will be even more laws "... to ensure airport security staff do not commit offences under child pornography laws". It's hard to understand how laws can be made to stop existing laws being broken - the whole idea of having a law in the first place is that if it's broken the perpetrator gets punished. Adding a pre-emptive legislative layer should be unnecessary and creates legal tangles and all sorts of unintended consequences.

The only way to be absolutely sure no person can break existing porn laws would be to have these scanners checked by machines, with no human intervention, but that's neither likely nor possible because somewhere along the line there has to be a human, even if it's just to check the machine is working properly. The earlier article suggests that

Airport officials say the scanner image is only seen by a single security officer in a remote location before it is deleted.

So who's keeping an eye on what that single individual is doing? Common sense suggests that their room is at least monitored by CCTV - which is checked by yet more watchers, who are checked by ...

What was that Latin thing again?

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

..

Rigorous checking procedures.

I think you will smile.

Via Guido to the Register, and this little item about the Government's online programme intended to advise children how best to use the internet safely, all except children in this Bristol school that is. The lovely new and very up to date government advisory area, hosted on directgov, was to be called "Buster's World" and was provided with a logo of a happy little badge-wearing black and tan terrier. Presumably this lovely fluffy dog called Buster would appeal to children and also help make the site's name easy to remember.

Good idea, don't you think? Seems a sensible sort of thing to do? Can't see a problem?

Unfortunately neither the company responsible for designing the new government site nor anybody in DCSF did a thorough check of existing domain names, so didn't spot another "Busters World" that's hosted in USA and has been around since 2000 (and is valid until 2013). The site, apparently, isn't the sort of site young children should be viewing.

The Register published the statement from DCSF as follows :

The naming of this webpage was clearly a mistake and we regret that the supplier’s usual thorough checking procedures when creating web content seem to have failed. When this was brought to our attention we urgently took the site down, pending a rename, to avoid any further issues.

The name concerned was new and had not yet been promoted widely to young people.

The safety of children on the internet is of paramount importance and we will be looking at the procedures of our suppliers to ensure this does not happen again.

To refer to this carelessness as a "cock-up" would be something of a cliché.

..........

Incidentally, there are many, many sites that offer advice on internet safety. There is one that's worth recommending as suitable, and useful, for all ages.

WiredSafety is truly excellent, it's been around for years and offers help and advice to not only children but also to adults who may have suddenly found the internet is not the cosy place they imagined it to be.

Those running the site can, if needed, help on a one-to-one basis and in 'real time' too.

Here it is again : -  WiredSafety

And here's a bit more about the organisation and what they do : -

WiredSafety provides help, information and education to Internet and mobile device users of all ages. We help victims of cyberabuse ranging from online fraud, cyberstalking and child safety, to hacking and malicious code attacks. We also help parents with issues, such as Social Networking (MySpace, Facebook etc.) and Cyberbullying.

and

 WiredSafety.org is a 501(c) (3) charity and the largest and oldest online safety, education, and help group in the world. Originating in 1995 as a group of volunteers rating websites, it now provides one-to-one help, extensive information, and education to cyberspace users of all ages on a myriad of Internet and interactive technology safety issues. Read more ...

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Emergency call.

You'd think, wouldn't you, that the staff would know the boss's name

Linky

If nothing else it shows what happens when "ordinary folk" make an emergency call.
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All hands to the (beer) pump?

You couldn't make it up!

New Minister for Pubs John Healey has promised to table a package of measures to help pubs within weeks.

and

Last week, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said the rate of pub closures had slowed from 52 a week in the first half of 2009 to 39 a week.

Healey, also housing and planning minister, is to head a task force of five ministers who will draw up a plan to help pubs.

He is said to be considering tax breaks for pubs and giving tenants the right to buy pubs from landlords if they are threatened with closure.

It is understood that the idea of appointing such a minister has been bubbling away over the past year as the government sought to provide some cross-departmental cohesion on policies affecting pubs.

So they're going to magic money out of thin air for not only 'tax relief'  but also the wages and severance pay for yet another minister. Perhaps they'll use the money they're taking from pensioners because their computers have made a bit of a mistake? All they need to do is relax the rules of the smoking ban to be exactly what they promised in their non-legally binding manifesto which was a "pledge to introduce a ban on smoking in all enclosed public places in England, except pubs which do not serve food, and private members' clubs".

Odd they should be 'doing something' now, in the run up to a general election.

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Power 2010

Message received :-

Dear Mrs Rigby

Firstly I wanted to say thanks for blogging about us and mentioning the campaign.

You'll have seen that we're now over halfway through the public vote phase of the campaign where the top 5 reforms that will form the backbone of the campaign are being voted for by the public.

There are 29 ideas being voted on. PR is currently in the lead, followed shortly by abolishing ID cards and the database state - but a lot could change between now and February 22nd when voting closes.

We're hoping to mobilise as many people as possible to vote to make the result as legitimate and powerful as it can be to strengthen our hand when we finally approach politicians and with that end in mind I wondered if you'd consider featuring one of these fashionable Power2010 "Vote" buttons on your website or sidebar: (link removed by Mrs R)

There's even a choice of colours: black and white. Just copy and paste the HTML into your site.

Thanks again - and I hope you can keep following and blogging the campaign.

If you have any questions or feedback on the campaign do let me know.

All the best,

Ghazal
Power2010 team

Who could refuse such a polite request, so the button has been added over there in the sidebar.

In case you're wondering about Power 2010 there's all the information you need on the site,(link removed by Mrs R) but the main thrust is to get opinions, and votes, on ten issues, including Proportional Representation, Fixed Term Government, English Votes on English Laws, a Written Constitution, Scrapping ID cards - and so on.

Why did the Rigbys get interested?

Well, there's nothing worse than being led to believe you're being listened to and having your opinions respected - which was, apparently, the intention of the government petitions site. At the beginning it was lauded as a way of government keeping in touch with what ordinary folk were worrying about, but over time it got a bit like one of those birthday cards that says "All I got for my birthday was this lousy card" - because in response to signing a petition all you end up with is an 'on message' email that M$'s filters automatically consign to the junk folder, and you wonder if it was worth giving personal details (which are probably somebody's data-stick) away - over 72,000 people signed Kalvis Jansons' "Please-Go" petition.

So what's the point in voting for something on a site that doesn't seem to be linked with any political group? Well, that's what appealed to us, there's more about it here (link removed by Mrs R)

The public vote

The public vote began January 18th and lasts five weeks until 22nd February. During this time are working with individuals and organisations across the country to meet up, discuss, and vote, ensuring as many people as possible participate and tell us the reforms they most want to see.

The five most popular ideas following the vote will become the POWER2010 Pledge and the focus for our nation-wide campaign at the next election.

Election campaign

The aim is for as many people as possible to sign the Pledge and then take it to the candidates in their constituency, by writing to them, calling them, and attending local hustings, public meetings and MPs' surgeries.

Together we will ask every candidate standing at the next election to make a public commitment - a pledge - to clean up and reform our politics.

In this way we will ensure that the next Parliament is a reforming one and delivers the changes our broken democracy so desperately needs.

In the end it can't do any harm, and has the potential to do quite a lot of good - although, of course, some issues could easily be highjacked by those of a particular political persuasion, which seems to have happened with the PR issue - but no matter. It's worth a try, isn't it - at the end of the 'voting' we'll all be able to see the 'most important' issues and can then take those issues to the candidates for the next general election - and we'll be able to find out if they're really interested in getting our vote.
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A handful of bananas. **

Bananas seem to manage to keep themselves in the news - so to be topical here are a few slip-ups, a couple of annoyances, and one or two smiles.

From English Fail Blog - Identification uncertain,

From Woosk - counting Fail.

From Fail Blog - misrepresentation.

From the BBC - EU fails to straighten bendy bananas.


From Youtube - A man called Ray Comfort explains evolution.




A Miliband moment.


"Joke" - Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana.


From the BBC - A £340 banana skin.


And finally, light relief from Harry Belafonte and the Muppets.




** Bananas, by the way, grow in clusters, with up to 20 fruit to a tier - called a hand.
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Misogyny in the Metropolis.

Some things you read in the media make you shudder.

Here was a man of powerful appetites. And dangerous if denied them. Most damning of all, perhaps, were the transcripts of telephone messages [he] left to an [...] ex-lover, Mandy Darougheh.

She had dumped him having discovered he was married, to his second wife Natalie. His reaction, left on her voicemail, was recorded ... 'I will take such revenge from you, that like a dog, you will be sorry that you will never treat me like this again,' he declared.

'Mandy, I am going to declare war on you and I have declared it as of now. See what I will do to you. From now on you are dead. I will start with your mum first. I am so emotionally disturbed now that anything is possible from me.

'I give you an hour and see what I will do to you. If you think I am worried about my career, to get back at you, you must be joking.

'Just remember what I did to ******'s (name unknown) husband. You are not safe. I am going to come and catch you, on my mother's life. If you are at home, get out because if I see you, I am going to lose it right now.

'You want war, bitch, you're going to get some war. You will see now what I can do so you will cry for years. First I will start with your family, then I come to you and your reputation. I will spread all over London that you are a prostitute.'

Even his barrister, Michael Mansfield QC, had to admit during arguments not heard by the jury: 'No police officer, no human being, should be talking like that. We all make mistakes, but it's unacceptable.'

It seems that this man was lucky because

..... the jury did not see these transcripts

The man who issued these threats is one time Commander of the Metropolitan Police, Ali Dizaei - who will be spending the next two years in Wandsworth Prison, having been found guilty of "Misconduct in a public office and perverting the course of justice" after he "... attacked Waad al-Baghdadi [a web designer to whom he owed £600] before arresting and attempting to frame him for assault". The pity is that "he seems certain to appeal against conviction," but at least he won't be able to rely on this chap.

Nobody is 'all bad' though, it seems Mr Dizaei, a Muslim, might not be a fan of the burqa :

When Dizaei's office was searched, photos were found of him with a lap dancer taken during a National Black Police Association jaunt to Canada. The woman was wearing his police hat and her breasts were out. Dizaei was wearing his police shirt.

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Underage.

Underage pregnancies (my bold) :

Over the past eight years, no fewer than 15 girls found they were expecting when they were aged just ten. A further 39 found out they were pregnant when they were 11.

Since 2002 there have been 63,487 pregnancies among under-15s in England and Wales: a total of 23 conceptions every single day among girls too young to legally have sex.

And how many of the adults who are supposed to keep these children safe, whether 'single parents' or not, have been prosecuted for allowing their children to be in a situation where they could get pregnant?

A quick search of the 'DirectGov' site leads to the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, which says right at the beginning, with regard to Prevention of Cruelty and Exposure to Moral and Physical Danger. Getting pregnant before you've finished growing has to count as being exposed to physical danger, even if being sexually active whilst still a child is no longer 'immoral'.

It's hard to understand why, in these days where every adult male is a sexual predator and a kiddy fiddler, parents aren't taking more care of their children - after all, children are the central tenets of almost every government policy.

It's so easy to get very angry about statistics like these, and angry about the useless adults who are meant to be caring for their children, but one of the junior members of the wider Rigby family once put the whole thing into context.

This 'junior' had more sense than the rest of us put together and said it's because children are raising children, and don't know how to be adult role models. How can, say, a girl who gives birth at 13 be a good role model to her own child when that child reaches school age when she'd still probably be in full time education herself.

It was also pointed out that if a girl gets pregnant at 10, 13, 14 and so on then she'll only be 20, 26 or 28 by the time her child reaches the same - and might even think it's funny or cool to become such a young grandparent because it might mean getting your picture in the newspaper.