Man Dies 12 Days After Contracting Deadly Bug From Compost Bag

Should bags of compost used by millions of British gardeners carry prominent warnings about a potentially fatal bacterium they may contain?

Theresa Gilsenen, 79, from Storrington, West Sussex, believes they should. After her husband of 55 years, Anthony, died last August aged 82, health officials told her his fatal infection may have been linked to a bag of garden compost he had used while repotting an olive tree.

Anthony died from Legionnaires’ disease, a serious infection of the lungs.

The illness is more commonly associated with breathing in water droplets contaminated by Legionella pneumophila, such as those produced by poorly maintained hot tubs. But another strain, Legionella longbeachae, has been linked to soil, compost and potting mixes.

Now, more than a year after Anthony’s death, Theresa, supported by her MP Andrew Griffith, is calling for clear Legionella warnings to be printed on all compost packaging.

Most bags currently carry small notices advising people to wash their hands after handling the product and avoid breathing in dust.

‘The warnings need to be much bigger, and I want to see the risk of Legionnaires’ disease clearly stated on every compost bag,’ says Theresa.

‘Making people aware of the danger has become my life’s mission. Losing my soulmate has been horrendous.’

Theresa Gilsenen’s beloved husband of 55 years, Anthony, died last August as a result of Legionnaires’ disease, believed to have been caught from a bag of compost he was using

The first indication that something was wrong came six days after Anthony, a retired businessman, had repotted the olive tree.

‘He had lost his appetite and felt exhausted,’ Theresa recalls. ‘The GP thought it was a virus that would clear up within a few days.’

Anthony’s condition then worsened. Two days later, during a second appointment, he was diagnosed with pneumonia and given antibiotics.

Despite the treatment, his chest became increasingly congested over the next two days and he was ‘too weak to get out of bed’, says Theresa. She called NHS 111 and was advised to take him to A&E.

At first, Anthony was well enough to chat and joke with other patients in the waiting room.

Within hours, however, he developed multiple-organ failure. He died with Theresa and their two children, Edward and Louise, at his bedside.

‘He deteriorated incredibly quickly,’ says Theresa. ‘Before he died, we told him how much we loved him. I hope he was able to hear us.’

As the devastated family began making funeral arrangements, Theresa received a call from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Hospital tests had identified Legionella longbeachae as the cause of Anthony’s infection.

‘They went through a diary of what Anthony had done in the days before he died,’ she says.

‘He had repotted the olive tree 12 days before his death, which they said fitted with the likely timing of the infection. I was told the compost was the probable source. It was an enormous shock.’

Legionella longbeachae is found in soil, compost and potting mixes. It takes its name from the Californian city where the bacterium was first identified in 1980.

Like Legionella pneumophila, which causes most cases of Legionnaires’ disease, Legionella longbeachae ‘can invade cells in the lungs’, explains Jeremy Brown, professor of respiratory infection at University College London. The resulting illness can cause coughing, breathlessness and other flu-like symptoms.

However, exactly how Legionella longbeachae passes from compost into the lungs remains unclear, Professor Brown says. It may be inhaled in dust from soil or potting mix, ‘but this has not been proven’.

Legionnaires’ disease may be caused by Legionella longbeachae, which can be found in soil, compost and potting mixes

The infection can be severe, with intensive-care admission and death appearing more common than with other causes of pneumonia, including flu. However, Professor Brown says there are too few Legionella longbeachae cases to establish this with statistical certainty. Between 2017 and 2023, England and Wales recorded only 35 cases, but ten people died — a fatality rate of 28.6 per cent, compared with 5.8 per cent for the more common Legionella pneumophila.

Its symptoms can resemble ordinary pneumonia, which can make diagnosis challenging. The only definitive way to identify the infection is by testing a fluid sample from the lungs.

‘The crucial thing is for doctors to consider it as a possibility and ask microbiologists to test for it,’ says Professor Brown.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Toukie Smith, Model and Mother of Robert De Niro’s Twins, Dies at 74

‘It is not something we would routinely test for because it is rare. A history of exposure to potting compost or soil is vital.’

When Legionnaires’ disease caused by either bacterium is confirmed, the UKHSA must be notified so that any potential outbreak can be investigated and contained.

The agency collected the bag of peat-free compost used by Anthony. It contained Legionella longbeachae, although the strain was not genetically identical to the one that infected him. The UKHSA explained that, while the compost could have been the source, this could not be confirmed.

Dr Tara Beattie, an environmental engineer specialising in public health at the University of Strathclyde, studied Legionella longbeachae in commercially sold compost after a cluster of infections in Scotland in 2013. She believes some cases may be going undetected because ‘the UK data is quite limited’.

Theresa also questions how widespread the problem might be. ‘The longbeachae infection was found only because someone tested a sputum sample from Anthony,’ she says.

‘We are a nation of gardeners. It makes you wonder whether other infections and deaths may never be identified.’

Some researchers have suggested that peat-free compost, which is becoming increasingly popular, may be more likely to contain Legionella than peat-based products.

Peat-free compost commonly includes composted bark, wood fibre and coir, a fibre made from coconut husks. Research published in 1994 detected Legionella in 80 per cent of the composted bark and sawdust samples examined, but not in pure peat.

‘I don’t think there was ever conclusive evidence, though,’ says Dr Beattie, whose own research detected Legionella longbeachae in both types of compost.

Now, a year on from Anthony’s death, Theresa is calling for clear warnings about Legionella to be put on compost packaging

The potential risk is not limited to compost bought from a shop. Legionella can also be present in garden soil and homemade compost.

How compost is stored may matter, too. Research indicates that warm, humid conditions can help Legionella survive and multiply, raising concerns about bags left outside in hot weather or kept in sheds and greenhouses.

Severe Legionella infection is more common in older people, whose immunity may be weaker, and those with conditions including heart disease and diabetes.

A 2017 study also found that people who had smoked were twice as likely to develop Legionella longbeachae infection as those who had never smoked.

‘However, healthy people can become infected, too,’ says Professor Brown.

Anthony had been diagnosed with a type of blood and bone marrow cancer in 2017, but was otherwise in good health.

‘He took great care of himself and was extremely fit,’ says Theresa.

‘He would cycle for hours on his electric bike, walk the dog every day and regularly meet friends. He loved live music and classic car shows.’

Since Anthony’s death, Theresa has devoted herself to securing more prominent health warnings on compost packaging.

The existing notices about avoiding dust and washing hands are tiny. ‘How many gardeners would even see them?’ she asks. Andrew Griffith says clearer Legionella warnings ‘could save lives’.

The company that made the compost Anthony used has agreed to introduce more prominent health and safety warnings on its packaging from 2027.

In a letter to Andrew Griffith, business minister Kate Dearden said officials were contacting industry organisations and compost suppliers to highlight the risks and encourage them to review their labels.

Theresa is learning to live without Anthony and has recently moved home.

‘I couldn’t bear staying in the cottage where we had spent so many years together. I kept expecting him to appear at the end of the garden path.

‘I still can’t quite take it in. It seems utterly absurd that compost could kill you.’