What action it plans to take to deal with the recent heroin deaths in Glasgow in addition to the action which is presently being taken by G…

The Executive does not believe that an official inquiry into the current outbreak of deaths among drug injectors is appropriate, as there is an official investigation being undertaken led by Dr Laurence Gruer of the Public Health Medicine Unit of Greater Glasgow Health Board, which is continuing.The Executive and the health board have done everything appropriate to the situation, keeping all clinical agencies and the public informed on a regular basis. GGHB and the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health are co-ordinating the investigation on a global level, as the outbreak is now international. They have drawn in a range of international agencies and experts in tackling the problem.On 15 June, the investigation team announced that the likely cause of the outbreak in Glasgow was the bacterium Clostridium novyi. Work is continuing and the heroin will be cultured under a variety of conditions in an attempt to isolate the Clostridia and other bacteria.