Death by bagpipe: Man’s lung illness linked to mold in instrument

There’s not enough bagpipes in rock and roll.

BonScottBagpipesAccording to Liz Szabo of USA Today, British doctors are blaming the death of a 61-year-old Liverpool man on his bagpipes, whose moist, dark interior apparently provided an ideal breeding ground for fungus. Authors of the case report are calling the man’s condition “bagpipe lung.”

The man’s demise appears to be the first documented case of death by bagpipe, experts say.

“It sounds like a Monty Python skit or an Agatha Christie story gone wrong,” said William Schaffner, a professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville.

The technical name for the man’s lung disease is hypersensitivity pneumonitis, which occurs when the immune system tries to fight off a foreign invader, such as mold or yeast. The ensuing inflammation ends up scarring the lung, making it harder for patients to breathe, said study coauthor Jenny King, a pulmonology resident at University Hospital in South Manchester.

This entry was posted in Other Microorganisms and tagged , by Douglas Powell. Bookmark the permalink.

About Douglas Powell

A former professor of food safety and the publisher of barfblog.com, Powell is passionate about food, has five daughters, and is an OK goaltender in pickup hockey. Download Doug’s CV here. Dr. Douglas Powell editor, barfblog.com retired professor, food safety 3/289 Annerley Rd Annerley, Queensland 4103 dpowell29@gmail.com 61478222221 I am based in Brisbane, Australia, 15 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time