Wind Musicians, Beware: The Deadly Bagpipe Infection

Wind Musicians, Beware: The Deadly Bagpipe Infection

Musicians, you’ve been warned: keep your instruments clean.

A musician who caught a fatal infection from his bagpipes has brought the dangers of the depths of musical instruments to the front stage.

The bagpipe man suffered from a dry cough and breathlessness for seven years, before his condition worsened severely enough to head to the hospital. He was diagnosed with hypersensitivity pneumonitis, or a chronic inflammation of the lung. The condition is typically the result of regular inhalation of foreign bodies in the environment.

Interestingly, the chronic condition is a hazard for people that are in contact with birds or hay consistently, and neither applied to the deceased musician. When the man left his bagpipes at home when he made a visit to Australia, doctors noted his symptoms had improved, leading them to the common denominator – his bagpipes.

Samples were removed from the inside of the bagpipes, which revealed a city of various moulds and fungi in the bag and neck of the instrument. Jenny King at Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester, UK, worked with her colleagues to remove the innards.

Despite treatment and discovering the source of the illness, the man died from scarring to his lungs.

The moist and mould found in the bagpipes aren’t specific to the Scottish instrument – the fungi can manifest in any wind instruments. King has seen multiple isolated cases of the same condition through playing instruments like the saxophone or clarinet.

“Because wind instruments are so warm and moist, they are an ideal [home] for moulds and fungi,” she says.

Maintaining instruments after use should keep them free of foreign bodies, King suggests.

“People should be aware that their instruments could harvest these moulds and fungi that could ultimately lead to lung disease.”

Photo Credit: anon_tae/Shutterstock

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