The mini outbreak of anthrax amongst Glasgow injecting drug users has come south - there has been a confirmed case in London. We don't know how these infections have occurred: one can speculate, but it doesn't help much - the fact remains that injecting materials into your body that have no aseptic, regulated, pharmaceutical provenance has, and always will be, very dangerous. just as in clostridial infections we must be alert to abscesses: anything that is hot, spreading, and is associated with systemic upset should be sent to A&E as a matter of urgency, along with a phone call to the (often inexperienced) SHO, with your concerns about something he or she has probably never heard of.
