Have a look at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-37152871 for interesting information about a notable health risk which can arise if significant levels of harmful pathogens develop inside bagpipes and other wind instruments. Numerous media websites contain similar articles about the death of a bagpiper in the South Manchester area and appear to depict the disease as a newly identified condition. I'm somewhat surprised about this aspect and therefore will raise it with two friends who are occupational health experts in Scotland. If the condition has not been identified until now, presumably any previous deaths related to it will either have been ascribed wrongly to other causes or simply classed as 'ideopathic' which is the expression used by doctors for conditions they don't know or understand! Can any forum users who play the bagpipes or other wind instruments - or know such players - comment on what precautions they take to try and minimise the development of mould and fungi inside their instruments? Though I'm no expert on musical instruments, I guess that the interiors of instruments made of metal, e.g. trombones and French horns, can be readily and regularly cleaned with disinfectant solution. By comparison the bags of bagpipes, especially those made of real leather (sheepskin, cow hide or goat hide) may be considerably harder to clean. Graham B

Same subject but a bit closer to home. I've seen some really disgusting things lurking in reusable RPE that has not been well maintained. Valves in particular