Alert over heroin as bug kills drug user.

A DRUG user has died from the flesh-eating bug necrotising fasciitis.

And two other people are fighting for their lives in hospitals in Lanarkshire and Glasgow.

A fourth patient with symptoms is responding well to treatment.

Last night, health officials issued a warning to heroin users not to inject the drug.

The man died in Lanarkshire on Christmas Eve. The cause of death was confirmed yesterday.

All four patients are thought to be drug-users.

Health bosses said that if heroin users insist on injecting the drug, they must not use dirty or shared needles.

And they said any signs of swelling, blood or pus around injection points should be treated by a doctor immediately.

Dr David Cromie, a consultant in public health medicine, said they had told doctors, hospitals and pharmacies of the threat.

He added: "The main message has to be to drug users on the dangers of injecting drugs.

"Muscle-popping, skin-popping and injecting when a vein has been missed are particularly dangerous.

"Smoking heroin carries much less risk than injecting it.

"If there is any pain or swelling around an injection site, drug users should seek urgent medical attention."

Eight years ago, a similar outbreak claimed the lives of 43 addicts over six months in Scotland, north-west England, the West Midlands and Dublin.

A fatal accident inquiry found 16 addicts from the Glasgow area contracted the clostridium novyi bug from a contaminated batch of heroin.