Legionnaires' caught from compost


A hidden danger in the garden has been highlighted by the case of a man who contracted Legionnaires' disease from handling compost. Skip related content
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Doctors discovered that the 67-year-old man was infected through a cut in his hand.
Reporting the "rare" incident in The Lancet medical journal, they said compost was known to harbour Legionnaires' bugs.
The man, described as previously fit and healthy and a "keen gardener", was inexplicably struck down by a serious fever in March.
Doctors saw him in hospital after eight days of trembling, confusion, lethargy and shortness of breath. He had a high temperature and an X-ray revealed signs of pneumonia in his left lung.
Dr Simon Patten and colleagues from the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley, Scotland, wrote: "We treated our patient with oxygen, intravenous fluids and antibiotics, but his respiratory function deteriorated, necessitating transfer to the intensive care unit for intubation."
"When we questioned the patient to find out the source of this infection, we discovered that he was a keen gardener and had lacerated his left index finger two days before the onset of his symptoms, while planting with compost," they wrote. "We presumed that this cut was the site of entry of the organism."
The patient's condition improved, and seven days later he was moved to a respiratory ward before being discharged.
Legionnaires' disease is normally caused by the bug Legionella pneumophili, which lives naturally in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, and can also be found in man-made structures containing water such as air conditioning systems. Legionella longbeachae is a less common species first isolated from a patient in Long Beach, California. Unlike its cousin, it is mostly found in soil and potting compost. Infection by this type of Legionnaires' bug is sometimes called Pontiac Fever.
In the UK, just nine cases have been reported since 1984. L. longbeachae infections are much more common in Australia, New Zealand and Japan, where it accounts for about 30% of all cases of Legionnaires' disease. They added: "The UK Royal Horticultural Society has issued warnings about the risk of contracting Legionnaires' disease from handling compost and has announced that bags of potting compost will carry cautionary statements."

[hawaiiOG]

wow that's crazy just think you go and do a transplant and pow your down, fuck, that is why I wear gloves when I play in the dirt.

[Neal]

A dust mask is a good idea also.

[GMT]

Now this is really scary. Isn't legionaires air born? Meaning that a soil grow in the house could be really risky? It's almost enough to get me going hydro.

[trichrider]

don't be fightened by all the bullsh*t you read/hear!
if this were the case there would be more than a few instances of infection.
Not saying it isn't possible, just highly unlikely, as there are many pathogens in soil.
peace

[SOTF420]

You can also develop a cutaneous anthrax infection which is from dormant endospores that are present in most soils around the world sometimes in a pretty good quantity, and is probably much more prevalent than Legionnaires actually. Bat Guano is far more dangerous than handling soils and composts for the record, bats harbor some of the most dangerous rare tropical diseases on the planet like ebola for instance. Aspergillus fungal spores also can be found in most soils and is responsible for Aspergillosis in humans and can be deadly.

Best advice get yourself some nice clean coir!

[GMT]

reading this thread, I'm really starting to resent having my grow in my bedroom. Anyone know of any ways to actively prevent the possability of any bad side effects from all this stuff? And no I dont want to start hydro or and of the unnatural ways to grow.

Originally Posted by GMT

reading this thread, I'm really starting to resent having my grow in my bedroom. Anyone know of any ways to actively prevent the possability of any bad side effects from all this stuff? And no I dont want to start hydro or and of the unnatural ways to grow.

An enclosed space with negative air pressure would certainly help, at least against anything airborne.

You might also wish to wear gloves when actively digging around in soil, as there are a number of other things living in soil, tetanus for just one example.

For future grows, I think I'll be going with a custom soilless media such as the ones presented by Burn1. (Had already decided that for other reasons, this thread wasn't really a factor in that decision)

.

[SOTF420]

Two words people - Coir & Hydroton

wholy crap good ta know! TY for the info & post!