With more than 20,000 members from 160 countries, ProMED-mail monitors emerging human, animal and plant diseases, as well as possible bioterrorist attacks or threats. He serves as assistant moderator for animal disease and as a coordinator for the WHO Anthrax Research and Control Working Group in addition to his duties as a full-time professor at the LSU Vet School. In particular, Hugh-Jones gets involved when traditional animal diseases, such as anthrax, equine encephalitis, rabies or plague are found in human beings. On May 6 he received notification that a Norwegian heroin user had died of an anthrax infection. Hugh-Jones and Norwegian officials were puzzled because the heroin user's death in Oslo was the first anthrax infection in Norway since 1993.
Anthrax is an acute infectious disease caused by bacteria.
It is most commonly passed from warm-blooded animals and survives for years as spores in contaminated soil. Anthrax is usually found in agricultural regions and areas without effective public-health regulations. The case was odd because you don't expect to see anthrax in a heroin user. The severity and delicacy of the situation prompted Hugh-Jones to immediately contact the CIA, FBI, CDC and WHO officials about the strange occurrence. Carefully written references of the case were also broadcast on ProMED-mail, although they were not heavily mentioned for fear of copycat occurrences.