Researchers have warned against the hidden dangers of compost after a pensioner was contaminated with Legionnaires’ disease. They urged people for precaution to be taken and the condition should be diagnosed quickly after the rare event. The pensioner experienced eight days of trembling, lethargy and shortness of breath.
He also had high temperature and his X-ray revealed signs of pneumonia in his left lung. An invasive process carried out by doctors in which lung is washed out to get a sample that discovered Legionella longbeachae, a rare form of Legionnaires’ disease which cannot be detected through normal tests.
The disease is caused by the virus Legionella pneumophili that survives naturally in rivers, lakes and pools. These viruses are also found in air conditioning systems. Legionella longbeachae is a less common and is frequently found in soil and potting dung.
Since 1984 just nine cases of the disease have been reported. The gardeners and health experts required to be receptive to it. The risk can be low but precautions can be taken, explained Dr Simon Patten from the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley, Scotland. They treat the patient with oxygen, antibiotics and intravenous fluids.
But when the respiratory functions weaken then patient needed to transfer to the intensive care units for intubation. The source of infection was found to be the scratch while planting with compost. Researchers believed that the scratch was the site of entry for the bug, added Dr. Simon.
The warning notice has issued by The UK Royal Horticultural Society about the risk of constricting Legionnaires’ disease from handling compost has proclaimed that bags of potting compost will carry warning statements. The infections are much more common in Australia, New Zealand and Japan, where it accounts for about thirty percent of all cases of Legionnaires’ disease.