Legionnaires’ disease spores identified in some potting compost
I have always fancied the idea of living in an off-grid
caravan in the middle of a field, a professional hermit if you like. The idea
of living a solitary lifestyle tending to the garden without interruption and
the trappings of modern living also seemed so appealing.
Until recently.
I had what I like to call “A bit of a turn” just before
Christmas and the thought of being anywhere but in a warm and dry home or even
a hospital would have been a nightmare.
I don’t really like talking about ailments but in this case and
haven’t done sense I had my tonsils out when I was 7. I’ll make an exception
here, so just pretend you’re in the supermarket queue and asked me how I am
getting on.
Initially I didn’t feel very well with a few cold symptoms so
took myself to bed for a while. Which turned into ten days. After that time, I
wasn’t feeling any better and I lost the ability to walk out of the bedroom unaided,
so I had a feeling it was something more than a cold. One ambulance journey to the hospital later
it turned out I had pneumonia. I’d have never guessed I was in the vulnerable
category but as I’m getting close to 60 maybe I am.
I had a week in my own quarantined room in the hospital as
they did tests to see which strain of pneumonia I had, there are contagious and
non-contagious types. It didn’t take me long to get institutionalised and I soon
got used to the regular meals and around the clock attention from the wonderful
staff.
It turned out I had the non-contagious type (which didn’t surprise
me as I don’t really come into contact with many people) so the facemasks came
off and the doors were opened. This got me thinking, how did I get it if it wasn’t
from someone breathing on me?
It’s pure speculation of course but I narrowed it down to
two things that I did prior to having the “Turn” I was cleaning up old lamps
with really fine wire wool the day before without a facemask and I was thinking
some of the steel dust could have latched onto my lungs and caused an infection.
The second theory- because that’s what this is, a theory- was that I opened an
old bag of potting compost in the tunnel a few days before and maybe breathed
in some of the fungal spores from the bag.
There have been a few cases of people getting Legionnaires’ disease(L.
longbeachae)a specific form of pneumonia which can be carried in water,
especially water that’s warm such as in air conditioning, hot tubs, in soil,
old potted plants and also in damp bags of unopened compost.
The move away from peat based compost has given rise to a
lot more varied products being used to bulk up the bags. The fungus is commonly
found growing on dead leaves, compost piles and decaying vegetation and are all
now being used in potting compost. It’s
generally harmless but can cause serious problems if too many spores get into
the lungs. The spores could lead to allergic reactions, asthma attacks and
hayfever-like symptoms
New Zealand and Australia have both a large gardening
community and have historically used wood-based potting mix. In more recent
years the UK and Ireland has moved away from peat-based mixes to wood-based
ones to save peat lands. Along with this change, came an increase of disease
from potting mixes. In North America, the commercial bags of potting media are
still predominantly peat-based and research has seen fewer cases of the
disease. The research doesn’t take products such as coir compost into
consideration though as a peat substitute.
Warning Labels
A British study found
that 4 of 22 brands of potting soil contained L. longbeachae. Some individuals who
have suffered, either directly or indirectly are calling for warning labels to
be put on products that could potentially cause the disease.
Australia and New Zealand have had labelling regulations in
place since 2003 and 2005 respectively. Labelling has not resulted in a decline
of the disease and like me, most customers completely ignore the labels anyway.
There have been a few cases linking L. longbeachae to
gardeners, so backed up with fact and some scaremongering it’s unclear which is
which. It’s probably in our interest to take a few precautions with the bags of
compost when opening. I’ll have a facemask handy now when I slice the bag open and
then dampen it down with some water before mixing. I’ll also damp down the wire
wool.
Apart from that, it’s business as usual and no more thoughts
of a caravan in the wilderness.
