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I'll second that. Although I wasn't within a bull's roar of dying I know that it can be fatal and I urge anyone handling potting mix to take care. I did know about it but thought I was bullet proof having handled potting mix for years, but just one stray microbe ................... WHAM! To my mind the warning on the package isn't prominent enough and should be highlighted more. Legionnaire's is not just an inconvenience like getting a cold, it's potentially a deadly illness and even if you don't succumb, you feel like s**t for 3 or 4 weeks. Use those masks.

Legionnaires' disease is a form of pneumonia caused by bacteria of the Legionella type. There are approximately 40 different species of Legionella, but most infections are caused by the species called Legionella pneumophila. The disease is named after a 1976 American Legion Convention in Philadelphia at which a number of attendees became ill with pneumonia.

Legionella bacteria grow in water and are widespread in the environment, being found in lakes, ponds, creeks and other bodies of water.

Legionella can also thrive in man-made systems such as cooling towers associated with air conditioning and spas.

Australia's largest Legionella outbreak occurred in April 2000 at the Melbourne Aquarium where 125 cases of Legionnaires' disease were diagnosed and 4 people died. This outbreak was due to Legionella pneumophila, which was found to be contaminating the Aquarium's cooling towers.

Another species of Legionella, called Legionella longbeachae, is fairly widespread in potting mixes, compost and mulches in Australia and has caused several deaths.