Two heroin users are in hospital in Dublin with an infection similar to that which killed eight people earlier this year.
Health board drug treatment clinics are to open today and tomorrow to provide emergency assessments to any addicts experiencing unusual symptoms.
Hospitals in the city have been asked to look out for similar infections among drug users. Family doctors are being contacted by their local health boards.
During the summer 22 people were infected and eight died. Evidence from Dublin and from Glasgow - where people died in similar circumstances - suggested contaminated heroin had been injected into muscle tissue by those who became infected.
The most recent cases involve two male users, who are in a stable condition. The Eastern Regional Health Authority says it is expected one may be discharged over the weekend.
Laboratory tests are being carried out to establish if the infection from which the two are suffering matches the infection in the summer outbreak. That process will take some days, the ERHA says.
The three area health boards in the region have repeated warnings against injecting heroin into the muscle. The boards have set up a freephone information line for drug users, their families and others who may be concerned. The number, 1800 459 459, is staffed each day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
It is thought the clostridium novyi bacterium was responsible for the illnesses and deaths in the summer. This anaerobic bacterium, present in the soil, if injected into the muscle can lead to severe infection, the ERHA said. The Minister of State with responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy, Mr Eoin Ryan, last night voiced his support for the ERHA appeal to heroin users.
"I am hopeful that many more people will present for treatment as a direct result of the measures the ERHA have put in place to combat this most recent outbreak," he said.
The summer outbreak was confined to drug users in Ireland, England and Scotland. Forty people died from among the 108 cases identified in the three countries. Until yesterday, the last notified case in Dublin had been on June 26th and the outbreak was considered to have been contained, though health authorities were still on the lookout, according to the National Disease Surveillance Centre.
Drug treatment centres open this weekend include: James's Clinic, Dublin 8 (10 a.m. to noon); Millbrook Lawns, Tallaght (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.); City Clinic, Amien St (9 a.m. to noon); James Connolly Memorial Hospital (2 p.m. to 3 p.m.); and Baggot Street Clinic (noon to 5 p.m.). The location of other clinics can be obtained from the helpline. Freephone helpline: 1800 459 459
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