Christopher "Pascal" Norris, who died in July, is thought to be the first man to have died of anthrax in more than two decades in Scotland. NHS Borders revealed that Norris' home had been cordoned off. Norris died on 8 July in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and later tests conducted showed that he had died of anthrax.
Health Protection Scotland said there was no cause for panic since anthrax is not transmitted from person to person. Norris had apparently worked with untreated animal skins, which is the way he may have become infected.To put this in perspective this is the first death from anthrax that has occurred in the UK for something like 30 years, so it is a very unusual situation," said NHS Borders medical director Dr Ross Cameron. "There is no risk to the general public - it's an isolated case. There has been one death and the contacts we have followed up have shown no signs of symptoms of any illness."
A HPS spokesperson confirmed that all precautions were being taken, "NHS Borders is tracing the man's relatives and other individuals known to have had access to the building," a statement said. "They are being assessed for risk of infection, with appropriate action being taken for each individual as required."
