Gardener dies as he breathes in deadly fungus from rotted leaves on compost heap

Gardeners have been put on alert for a deadly fungus that lurks in compost heaps and in piles of rotting leaves.

Doctors issued the warning after a man died from inhaling the Aspergillus fungal spores.

The 47-year-old, a welder from Buckinghamshire, became ill less than 24 hours after spreading rotting tree and plant mulch, the Lancet medical journal reports.

In an article entitled Gardening Can Seriously Damage Your Health, the man's doctors said that while such an extreme reaction to the fungus was rare, it could be considered an 'occupational hazard' for gardeners.

The unnamed man was admitted to Wycombe Hospital, Buckinghamshire, early last year suffering chest pain, shortness of breath, muscle pain and a cough.

At first it was thought he had pneumonia, but a battery of antibiotics failed to improve his condition and within 24 hours he became so short of breath that he had to be transferred to intensive care.

There his body became overwhelmed by the infection - his heart sped up, his blood pressure fell, his temperature rose and his kidneys started to slow down. When tests revealed the presence of the fungus, he was started on appropriate drugs and transferred to specialist regional centre, where he was placed on a heart-lung machine.

However, his condition continued to worsen, and soon afterwards he developed kidney failure, and then died.

Doctors who questioned the man's partner discovered that his symptoms had started just hours after he had been engulfed by 'clouds of dust' while dispersing rotting tree and plant mulch in his garden.

It seems the dust was loaded with the Aspergillus fungus, which grows on soil, plant debris and rotting vegetation in the autumn and winter.

Occasionally, it is found inside buildings, especially in air conditioning systems and hospitals.

Most people are either immune to the fungus or have a sufficiently healthy immune system to fight the infection.

But in asthma sufferers it can produce coughing and wheeziness.

In people with weak or damaged immune systems, such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and Aids patients, the fungus can cause pulmonary aspergillosis - the condition seen in this case.

The doctors wrote that while the man was outwardly healthy, smoking and welding could have damaged his lungs, increasing his vulnerability.

The British Lung Foundation advised gardeners to wear masks when working with large quantities of compost or leaves.

A few months ago a man in Scotland caught Legionnaires' disease from a bag of fertiliser, and spent seven weeks in intensive care.