Fatal anthrax infection in a heroin user from southern Germany, June 2012

T Holzmann; D Frangoulidis; M Simon; P Noll; S Schmoldt; M Hanczaruk; G Grass; M Pregler; A Sing; S Hörmansdorfer; H Bernard; R Grunow; R Zimmermann; W Schneider-Brachert; A Gessner; U Reischl

doi:10.2807/ese.17.26.20204-en

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Fatal anthrax infection in a heroin user from southern Germany, June 2012
T Holzmann¹ , D Frangoulidis² , M Simon¹ , P Noll³ , S Schmoldt² , M Hanczaruk² , G Grass² , M Pregler⁴ , A Sing⁵ , S Hörmansdorfer⁵ , H Bernard⁶ , R Grunow⁶ , R Zimmermann⁶ , W Schneider-Brachert¹ , A Gessner¹ , U Reischl¹
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Affiliations: ¹ Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University Hospital of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany ² Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology, Munich, Germany ³ Krankenhaus der Barmherzigen Brüder, Regensburg, Germany ⁴ District Health Office, Regensburg, Germany ⁵ Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority (LGL), Oberschleißheim, Germany ⁶ Robert-Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany

Correspondence:
T Holzmann
thomas.holzmann klinik.uni-regensburg.de
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Citation style for this article: Holzmann T, Frangoulidis D, Simon M, Noll P, Schmoldt S, Hanczaruk M, Grass G, Pregler M, Sing A, Hörmansdorfer S, Bernard H, Grunow R, Zimmermann R, Schneider-Brachert W, Gessner A, Reischl U. Fatal anthrax infection in a heroin user from southern Germany, June 2012. Euro Surveill. 2012;17(26):pii=20204. https://doi.org/10.2807/ese.17.26.20204-en Received: 22 Jun 2012

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Abstract

Blood cultures from a heroin user who died in June 2012, a few hours after hospital admission, due to acute septic disease, revealed the presence of Bacillus anthracis. This report describes the extended diagnosis by MALDI-TOF and real-time PCR and rapid confirmation of the anthrax infection through reference laboratories. Physicians and diagnostic laboratories were informed and alerted efficiently through the reporting channels of German public health institutions, which is essential for the prevention of further cases.