Simon Tait, 42, died after becoming the first patient to contract Legionnaire’s Disease at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.

Mr Tait, from Ely, had undergone chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant as treatment for acute myeloid leukaemia at the Cambridge hospital. He developed Legionnaire’s disease, and died on March 25 as a result of broncho-pneumonia.

Legionnaire’s disease is a rare form of pneumonia caused by a bacterium normally found in pond water. The bacterium sometimes contaminates artificial water supply sources and under the right conditions it can begin to spread rapidly, leading to possible outbreaks out the infection.

The bug was given its name after being identified as the cause of a mysterious pulmonary infection afflicting 200 people attending a 1976 American Legion convention in Philadelphia. The disease is contracted by inhaling mist from contaminated water sources, most commonly air conditioning units.

Legionnaire’s disease is uncommon in the UK, and is only fatal in approximately 5% to 15% of all cases. The Health Protection Authority reported 359 confirmed cases in 2008, with 38 fatalities.  Death as a result of the disease is most common in the elderly, or those already suffering from underlying health conditions, such as Mr Tait.

Coroner David Morris told the inquest in Huntingdon that doctors at Addenbrooke’s had believed Mr Tait was suffering from a fungal infection, and had treated him with antibiotics and anti-fungal medication. The legionella was not diagnosed until after his death.

Traces of the legionella bacteria were found in the shower of Mr Tait’s room in the hospital. Three others rooms in the unit where he was receiving treatment were also found to contain the bug, although the hospital’s main water system was clean.

Dr Nick Brown, a microbiologist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, said that Mr Tait was discovered to have had the unusual ‘Cambridge’ strain of the bug, which was discovered in the city in the 1970s.  He also suggested the ‘mixer taps’ in the hospital may have been a contributory factor in the formation of legionella since the taps keep water at a temperature where the bacteria thrives. However without these taps, he noted, the risk of scalding would be significant.

Dr Brown commented that Addenbrooke’s is not the only hospital to have found traces of the bug. There are nationally around eight hospital-related cases each year.

The director of estate and facilities at the hospital, Richard Howe, said that the hospital’s plan for controlling legionella had wrongly assumed the high through-put of patients would ensure the system was flushed through regularly.

Since Mr Tait’s death Addenbrooke’s have replaced shower fittings which may have harboured the disease and tightened its procedures for handling legionella.