HEROIN found to be harbouring a bacteria similar to that which causes tetanus has confirmed fears that the recent outbreak of the disease among addicts is due to contaminated drugs.
Twenty people have so far died of the disease among the 39 confirmed cases.
The Assistant Director of Health for Special Services, Dr Lam Ping-yan, said yesterday that although only a small number of heroin samples had been tested, some results had shown traces of a tetanus-related bacteria.
Dr Lam said: ''The existence of this bacteria in heroin indicates that the drug is also capable of harbouring the tetanus bacteria.'' Doctors and health officials have always suspected that contaminated heroin was responsible for the tetanus outbreak but this is the first confirmation of that theory.
Dr Lam said: ''The outbreak can be termed an epidemic in that we have never had such a large number of cases in such a short space of time.
''But because tetanus has an incubation period of up to six months there will almost certainly be more cases to come.'' More than 3,000 drug addicts have been immunised against the disease after the Health Department launched a massive publicity and education drive, although there are believed to be about 20,000 injecting addicts in Hong Kong.