Why You Should Wear A Mask When Gardening

[appalachiablue]

- Daily Kos, Dec. 13, 2023.

This is a cautionary tale.

Now, I'm normally a reasonably healthy middle aged guy. Not immuno compromised, have my flu shot and covid booster every 6 months, eats well, walks the dog, doesn't smoke...

But last month I got sick. Very very sick. And it came out of nowhere. On Sunday I was happily mowing the lawn, weeding and planting out a summer-crop in the veggie-patch. Monday I was a bit tired and coughing. Tuesday I was disoriented, running a high fever, and by midnight it reached 40° Celsius (104° Fahrenheit). I was sweating profusely and shaking uncontrollably.

Early Wednesday morning I was semi-unconscious in Emergency.

I can't even begin to recount what it is like to have three IV cannula, a catheter and an oxygen feed hanging off your body, all at once, as you are being pumped full of medication and fluids, and the doctors are debating if they need to intubate you. "Uncomfortable" doesn't do it justice.

PCR tests quickly excluded Covid, Influenza and RSV. A chest X-ray and other tests confirmed Pneumonia and Sepsis. Thankfully I responded well to IV antibiotics (and whatever else they gave me) and by Thursday afternoon I was feeling somewhat human again. I was still stuck in a hospital bed for another 4 days though.

My first reaction was: How could this happen so fast?... More,
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/13/2211427/-Why-you-should-wear-a-mask-gardening
----------
- Legionella, Wiki
...Documented sources include cooling towers,[20] swimming pools (especially in Scandinavian countries), domestic water systems and showers, ice-making machines,[21] refrigerated cabinets, whirlpool spas,[22][23] hot springs,[24] fountains,[25] dental equipment,[26] soil,[27] automobile windshield washer fluid,[28] industrial coolant,[29] and waste water treatment plants....

.. In addition to tourists and other recreators, gardeners may be at increased risk for exposure to Legionella.[38] In some countries (like Australia), Legionella lives in soil and compost.[38] Warmer temperatures and increased rainfall in some regions of the world due to climate change may impact Legionella in soil, gardeners seasonal exposure to contaminated soil, and complex water systems used by the public.[38]

Exposure related to natural disasters and climate change
Not only are Legionella spp. present in man-made water systems and infrastructure, but this bacteria also lives in natural bodies of water, such as lakes and rivers.[36] Weather patterns and other environmental factors may increase risk of Legionella outbreaks; a study in Minnesota, USA, using outbreak information from 2011 to 2018 showed precipitation as having the greatest effect of increasing risk of Legionella exposure when taking into account other environmental factors (temperature, relative humidity, land use and age of infected person).[39] Weather patterns heavily relate to the established infrastructure and water sources, especially in urban settings. In the US, most cases of Legionella infection have occurred in the summertime, though they were likely more associated with rainfall and humidity than summer temperatures.[38] Severe rain patterns can increase risk of water source contamination through flooding and unseasonable rains; therefore, natural disasters, especially those associated with climate change, may increase risk of exposure to Legionella.[38]

Vaccine research: No vaccine is available for legionellosis...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legionella

[Demovictory9]

1. "fabulous Australian Medicare system. As traumatic as this experience was, I got better real fast and I never had to pay

fabulous Australian Medicare system. As traumatic as this experience was, I got better real fast and I never had to pay for a thing.

---------
6 days in the hospital..all rhat care..would have cost $150,000 in US

[appalachiablue]

2. I hear you, the predatory US system is monster.

[hlthe2b]

3. Not clear the organism was Legionella. It could also have been Tularemia (spread by infected rabbits)

and that is more likely in the US. Often misdiagnosed. Fortunately for that patient, several of the antibiotics effective against Legionella would likewise treat Tularemia (Francisella tularensis). In the West, this is not uncommon but can be mistaken in its earlier febrile stage with plague so there is probably more awareness--especially where there has been some wild rabbit die-off. But anyone gardening, mowing, digging, or landscaping should be aware of the risks in their area. No mention that it was considered, but even in Australia, it likely should have been.


Abstract
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9097380/

Tularemia pneumonia may complicate the various clinical presentations of tularemia, or present as an uncommon zoonosis. Approximately 200 cases of tularemia are reported in the United States per year, and 10% to 20% present with pneumonia either as a primary event or as a complication of ulceroglandular or typhoidal tularemia. Tularemia pneumonia also occurs with the other tularemic forms, glandular, oculoglandular, and oropharyngeal tularemia as a result of secondary bacteremic spread to the lungs. Pneumonia usually occurs within 2 days to months after infection. The mortality rate of primary tularemic pneumonia and pneumonia complicating typhoidal tularemia is high. The clinical and roentgenographic presentations of tularemia pneumonia are highly variable and is one of the zoonotic atypical pneumonias. Tularemic pneumonia may mimic fungal and bacterial pneumonias, tuberculosis, or malignancy. The diagnosis of tularemic pneumonia should be considered in any patient presenting with an atypical pneumonia with the finding of an ulcer and/or lymphadenopathy and a history of outdoor activity. Serum agglutination tests and ELISA are the basis of serological diagnosis. Francisella tularensis can be cultured from the sputum, skin ulcer, pleural fluid, and the lymph nodes, but cultures should not be obtained because of the danger to laboratory personnel. The drug preferred for treatment of tularemic pneumonia is streptomycin for 1 to 2 weeks.

[appalachiablue]

4. That sounds horrible, appreciate the info.