Rare 'farmer's lung' disease claims life of trainee teacher, 21

Published on Tuesday 14 April 2009 22:03

A TRAINEE teacher has died after contracting farmer's lung, a rare disease that kills only a handful of people each year.

Stephanie Smith was diagnosed as suffering from aspergillus, an infection contracted by inhaling the spores of a fungus that grows on soil, plant debris and rotting vegetation.

After being admitted to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness with breathing problems at the end of March, she was diagnosed with the condition and died last Thursday following an asthma attack.

Most people are immune to the condition, but Miss Smith, 21, had suffered mild asthma for most of her life and was susceptible to the disease.

She had been due to graduate from Aberdeen University this summer and had recently completed a placement at her former primary school, Millbank, in Nairn.

She was expecting to begin her career as a probationary teacher in August.

Yesterday Lewis Fraser, 24, her partner of 13 months, paid tribute to her, saying: "She has given me the best year of my life."

The aircraftman, based at RAF Kinloss, added: "Steph was always happy and full of life. It's going to be very hard without her."

Her mother, Liz Smith, described her as "the perfect daughter".

Lynne Shiach, programme director of her course at Aberdeen University, added:

"She was a naturally gifted student teacher who understood children and how to enthuse them in learning."

Miss Smith was also a junior member of Scottish Ballet and a member of the Argyll-based dance company Ballet West.

Nairn provost Liz MacDonald said: "She was a beautiful girl who was always smiling and had a very bright future ahead of her. Stephanie was one of those people who would light up any room.

"She had a ready smile and a word for everyone. The children at school loved her and her colleagues will miss her terribly. I am sure the people of Nairn will rally round and offer the family all the support they can."

Farmer's lung causes shortness of breath and a feeling of general illness either in a sudden attack or as a slow, progressive disease.

While the spores that cause the disease are not infectious, they can trigger an allergic reaction from the body's immune system, which normally protects against diseases.

A survey by the Scottish Office in the 1970s found that 0.8 per cent of the farming population of Orkney and Ayrshire had developed farmer's lung.

At the time, this was 20 times higher than any figure previously reported for the disease in Britain. In 2002, seven people in Britain were recorded to have died of it.