TWO patients have died after contracting a fungal infection linked to pigeon droppings at a hospital.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has launched a probe into the death of one patient at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, with the cause still to be determined.
The health board said the second patient affected – who was elderly – died of an unrelated matter.
Control measures were immediately put in place after the two cases of Cryptococcus were detected.
A spokesman said: “Due to patient confidentiality we cannot share further details of the two cases.
“The organism is harmless to the vast majority of people and rarely causes disease in humans.”
The infection is caused by inhaling the fungus Cryptococcus, primarily found in soil and pigeon droppings.
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