Danger lurking in our garden hose
I WAS sorry to read about Stephen Clements, who died after contracting Legionnaires’ disease from his garden hose (Mail). My wife Sheila became ill in late summer 2015 with the same symptoms. Delirious with a temperature of 106f, she was admitted to hospital, where she was diagnosed with this serious lung condition, which can be caught by breathing in infected water droplets. We were contacted by public health authorities after they were notified by the hospital, as they needed to trace the source of the outbreak. I told them we had visited a garden centre, where hot tubs were on display, and an air-conditioned antiques centre. We also have a garden pond with a fountain and our house has a cold-water storage tank, but none of this seemed to be of interest. What I didn’t say was that my wife is a keen gardener and that during the summer she leaves the hosepipe on the ground after use, as I did not know this could be dangerous. We were finally advised that the authorities would not carry out any investigation to identify the source because no one else had been affected. It took the Mail’s report on Mr Clements’s sad death to highlight the risks associated with hosepipes. Sheila made a full recovery after a couple of months. One good thing that came out of her illness was that I learned how to use the vacuum cleaner, dishwasher and washing machine — and my ironing is also pretty good now!
ROBERT J. EvANS, Birmingham.
AS AN electrical engineer for Nottinghamshire County Council, I worked alongside a heating and ventilation engineer visiting schools to check for potential problems that could cause Legionnaires’ disease. One piece of advice I was given has always stayed with me: when you have been away on holiday, the flexible hose in the shower will contain some water — ideal conditions for the growth of the Legionella bacteria. When you switch it on, the shower head ejects this standing water in a mist, which can then be inhaled. As a sensible precaution before going on holiday, remove the shower head and put it into a jug of water with a Milton sterilising tablet for a few hours. Unhook the shower hose and let it hang loose so any water drains out. When using the shower again for the first time, let it run for a minute before getting in.
STEWART TEASDALE, Barwell, Leics.