From: niaid@well.sf.ca.us (William Heriot) Subject: BLACK TAR H= BOTULISM!!! Date: 1996/02/04 newsgroups: alt.drugs.hard this is an alert to all folks who use "black tar" heroin....as of late in the s.f. bay area and to some extent l.a there have been many cases of deep wound botulism. this is a for of botulism that is an anerobic spore that causes dizzyness double vision, high fever, droopy eyes, slurrying of words and almost a l w a y s d e a t h . the thing is that this occurs mostly in people that "skin pop" or "muscle" their shots. the spores of this disease need an almost airless enviornment to replicate in i.e. muscles or missed shot abscesses. the shit is nasty and can be treated successfuly if recognized quickly. do not confuse being loaded "droopy eyes', slurring words with the disease. black tar heroin is notoriously dirty and this is another complication that could kill you if you don't seek treatment a.s.a.p. if you feel bad and are running a fever over 24 hrs. and have either missed as shot or muscled one don't take a chance...go to a methadone clinic or public healt department and get treated. nuff' said ==================================================================== From: nobody@REPLAY.COM (Anonymous) Subject: HEROIN: Flesh Eating Bacteria Date: 1996/04/21 ewsgroups: alt.drugs.hard Saturday April 20 5:05 PM EDT Flesh-Eating Bacteria Strike US Heroin Addicts SAN FRANCISCO (Reuter) - Flesh-eating bacteria have stricken nearly 30 heroin addicts in the San Francisco area, killing three and prompting warnings by public health departments, a newspaper reported Saturday. The San Francisco Chronicle said public health authorities suspect a contaminated batch of Mexican black-tar heroin is responsible for the cases, which may have peaked in March and now appear to be subsiding. Seventeen cases of the bacterial infection have been logged this year in San Francisco, eight in nearby Contra Costa County and at least three in Alameda County, the report said. It said doctors suspect the cases of necrotizing fasciitis are caused by any of three different organisms, sometimes called flesh-eating bacteria, contaminating the heroin. The most likely one in this outbreak is thought to be Clostridia sordelli, a cousin of the bacteria that cause botulism, it said. These bacteria multiply quickly and can cause severe tissue damage within 12 hours after the first appearance of symptoms, which include reddening of the skin, tenderness and pain, the Chronicle reported. Without treatment, victims of flesh-eating bacteria require surgical removal of infected skin, muscle and connective tissue, the Chronicle said. Several patients have lost arms or legs, it said. Two San Francisco heroin users infected by the bacteria died of septic shock, when toxins produced by the bacteria cause a drop in blood pressure and organ failure, it said. Another patient died of necrotizing fasciitis this year in Martinez, 30 miles east of San Francisco, it said. ``The organism is very aggressive,'' the newspaper quoted Dr. Mitch Katz, San Francisco's director of epidemiology and disease control, as saying. ``These infections are treatable with intravenous antibiotics, but people need to get treatment quickly.'' Katz's office issued warnings to San Francisco drug treatment centers April 3, but by that time the crisis may already have passed, the Chronicle said. Only one case has been reported in the city so far this month, down from 10 in March. San Francisco public health officials could not be reached for comment Saturday. The Chronicle quoted an epidemiologist at the University of California at San Francisco as saying the most likely cause of the contamination of the black tar heroin was dirt either from the opium farm where the raw drug originates or in material used to ``cut'', or dilute, the drug for street sale. ==================================================================== From: (LectrkLady) Newsgroups: alt.drugs.hard Subject: Something scary about Black Tar Date: 11 Apr 1998 21:53:48 GMT "Wound Botulism Associated With Black Tar Heroin Among Injecting Drug Users" Journal of the American Medical Association (03/18/98) Vol. 279, No. 11, P. 859; Passaro, Douglas J.; Werner, S. Benson; McGee, Jim; et. al. Wound botulism (WB), an unusual soft tissue infection, is typically associated with crush injuries or trauma to the extremities, but in 1982 the first case related to injection drug use was reported in New York City. Since the first case in California was reported in 1988, the number of patients with wound botulism related to injection drug use has continued to increase in the state. Between 1988 and 1995, the majority of the 49 cases reported were in patients who routinely injected black tar heroin; only 3 cases were not linked to injected drugs. Researchers performed a case-control study of patients who developed laboratory-confirmed WB between January 1, 1994 and March 1, 1996, to determine the risk factors associated with the disease. Twenty-six patients with laboratory confirmed WB agreed to participate in the study, and a control group was formed that consisted of 110 volunteers who were participating in methadone detoxification programs. All participants were questioned about general personal characteristics and 34 drug-use habits, including frequency and type of drugs injected, cleaning of syringes and needles, frequency of sharing needles, injection technique, and injection site. Bivariate analyses indicated that subcutaneous or intramuscular injection of black tar heroin was the only behavior consistent in drug users who developed wound botulism. While the research was not intended to show how or at what point the black tar heroin was contaminated, the authors found that sterilizing skin or cleaning syringes between injections did not protect against WB. They speculate the contamination occurs during "cutting," at which point heroin manufacturers add various ingredients to add volume and weight to the drug. The researchers concluded that subcutaneous or intramuscular injection is the primary risk factor associated with the development of WB.