A 50-year-old man is believed to have died from the rare anthrax disease, British health officials said on Wednesday, in the first apparent case in Scotland in nearly 20 years.
The man, who lived in the Scottish Borders region, died on July 8 after a short illness and laboratory tests have shown that the disease is likely to have been the cause of death, health officials said.
The man worked with materials such as untreated hides, they said.
Anthrax is caused by bacteria and can be transmitted to humans through contact with contaminated animal substances such as hair, faeces or hides, and is characterised by ulcerative skin lesions.
The National Health Service (NHS) said the man’s home in Hawick had been sealed off as authorities tried to trace the man’s relatives and any other people who entered the building to determine if they risked infection.
However, the health authorities said anthrax is not passed from person to person and there was nothing to suggest that the broader public was at risk.
After a series of tests at laboratories in England, experts identified anthrax as the most likely cause for septicaemia.
The last laboratory confirmed case of anthrax in Scotland was in 1987 when a girl was infected but later recovered.
“All appropriate precautions are being taken to deal with the house and its contents,” according to Health Protection Scotland, the public health body set up in 2004 by the autonomous Scottish executive.
“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,” it said. — AFP