Wind instruments could cause lung disease

A mysterious death has led doctors to issue a strong warning for anyone who plays a wind instrument.

When a 61-year-old man died in 2014 from a mysterious illness, doctors at the University Hospital South Manchester in England, began to dig deeper into what caused his death.

After asking lots of questions about his day to day life, they began to suspect that the man's bagpipes may have been the problem.

They learned his symptoms vanished when he stopped playing them for 3 months while traveling.

When his bagpipes were cracked open, doctors found pink yeast, mold and plant fungi living in the instruments neck.

Turns out the man had been inhaling the microbes every day he played.

Which they believe may have sparked his eventual diagnosis of hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

Now medical experts are suggesting musicians who play wind instruments should clean them after each use to avoid contracting lung disease from micro-organisms.

Those instruments include the bagpipe, clarinet, saxophone, and bassoon among others.

RELATED: Common foods suspected of causing cancer