Legionnaires’ death prompts warning

A DUNEDIN man’s passion for gardening may have killed him, and his widow wants his death to serve as a warning to others.

The woman, who asked not to be named, said her husband, who died in September, was a fit and healthy nonsmoker, who loved working in their garden.

A load of compost he intended to put on tomatoes was recently delivered to the property, but it came with an unwanted extra — legionella bacteria.

‘‘It was really, really sudden. He was dead in just five days,’’ the man’s wife said.

‘‘He was healthy, strong, and loved his garden.’’

Compost had been delivered to the front of the house, and the man had taken it by wheelbarrow to a shed and dumped it there, during which process his widow believed he breathed in the fatal bacteria.

Legionella, or Legionnaires’ disease, can be treated with antibiotics if detected soon enough

but, as many patients do, the man dismissed his coughing and sneezing as a cold or flu.

‘‘I went along with the idea that it was a cold or flu for a couple of

days, but then I said you should go to the doctor,’’ the woman said.

‘‘At that stage it wasn’t aggressive and they did put it down to being a flu . . . but by the Friday I was concerned and I rang the doctor again.

‘‘He wasn’t 100%, but he did walk off down our path . . . I said you’ll get some antibiotics and you’ll be fine.’’

Hours later the man was transferred from the emergency department to intensive care, but clinicians were unable to save him.

‘‘It’s left a huge hole in the family. We just wish it hadn’t happened,’’ the woman said.

‘‘I feel people need to know about this.’’

Her husband’s death should be a message for all gardeners to take care with potting mix and compost, and for all retailers who sold it to ensure their customers were given appropriate health warnings, she said.

‘‘I’m concerned for people who work with this stuff at garden centres but have got no masks or protection,’’ the woman said.

‘‘They should give out a sheet of paper at garden centres to tell people of the dangers because it can have a devastating effect, that someone who was perfectly healthy could go so quickly.’’

Southern District Health Board medical officer of health Anura Jayasinghe said the man’s death was a terrible reminder of the potential danger of Legionnaires’ disease.

‘‘People should watch out for signs . . . as early treatment is usually effective,’’ he said.

‘‘Men and women of any age can get legionellosis, but middleaged or older men, particularly those who smoke or drink heavily, are at higher risk.’’