[Killietalk] re-using peat

[Sue Katz <dskatz at earthlink_net>]

With respect to using peat, a very interesting paper has just been published that looks at mycobacterial infections (mycobacteria = MAC, marinum and some other species were isolated) that appear to have been caused by gardeners working with unsterilized soil, especially soil containing a high concentration of peat moss.
Mary Ann De Groote, Norman R. Pace, Kayte Fulton, and Joseph O. Falkinham, III 
Relationships between Mycobacterium Isolates from Patients with Pulmonary Mycobacterial Infection and Potting Soils Appl. Envir. Microbiol. December 2006 72: 7602-7606. 
http://aem.asm.org/cgi/reprint/72/12/7602
This paper will become openly accessible in another couple of months (6 months after publication)

This paper has made me very aware that even individuals without known compromise might be infected with these very resistant organisms by exposing themselves to small dust particles from peat moss.
One of the conclusions from the paper was that people should wear dust masks when working with nonsterilized soils - and to carry that further, I would encourage my fellow killie keepers to consider using a dust mask with bulk peat when getting it wet, to do it outside if possible and to boil it as well. 
Sue Katz
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