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Legionnaires disease and compost link - help
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Can anyone provide me with any further help and/or advie on the above? I know of a report in the Daily Mail back in 2008 that suggested 'you can catch deadly legionnaires disease from garden compost' and that the Growing Media Association have recently stated there is no 'causal link'. So....is compost dodgy or is it just one of those myths. Any advice would be appreciated.
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Rank: Super forum user
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The agent that causes Legionnaires' disease is a bacterium called Legionella pneumophilia. People catch Legionnaires' disease by inhaling small droplets of water suspended in the air, which contain the bacteria.
The bacteria is found in soil, sludge etc including I suppose compost. But it will not cause legionnaires unless mixed with water, allowed to breed at certain temperatures, and sprayed.
But you only get legionnaires decease by inhaling the microscopic droplets of contaminated water suspended in the air.
A search on the HSE Web site will bring you up to speed with the subject
Steve
PS Why do you ask anyway?
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Rank: Super forum user
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Rank: Super forum user
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Victor
Go to www.eurosurveillance.org and put Legionella longbeachae into the search box and you will get a variety of papers on the subject including the article on a cluster of Legionnaires; diease linked to potting compost in Scotland, 2008-2009
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Rank: Guest
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Very many thanks everyone - this has cetainly helped.
Steve, you asked why?.....well one of my clients sells compost via their staff sales shops and an employee has raised the issue and is subsequently creating havoc...it would be nice if the employees had completed all their manual handling risk assessments and operated the safe system of work for working at height, but all in a days work eh
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