Title: Occupational Health and Safety Issues on Poultry Farms
1Occupational Health and Safety Issues on Poultry
Farms
- Bhushan Jayarao, MVSc, Ph.D., MPH
- Extension Veterinarian
- Department of Veterinary Science
- Pennsylvania State University
2Changes over the last 20 years in medicine and
public policy
- Better understanding and knowledge of etiological
agents - Improved detection and diagnosis of occupational
health related diseases - Active support and participation by Federal and
State agencies
3Changes in the poultry industry
- Better understanding of nutrition, physiology and
diseases of poultry - Improved housing and management practices
- Improved technology to process birds and eggs
- Vertical integration of the industry
4What do we know about Occupational Health and
Safety Issues related to Poultry ?
- Peer reviewed scientific publications
----- PubMed ( 1974-1999) - Dust, gases and toxins ( 4)
- Asthma, and respiratory illnesses (19)
- Allergies(9)
- Infectious diseases (32)
- Cancer (3)
- Occupational injuries (14)
5Environmental Study of Poultry Confinements(Jones
, et al., 1984)
- Total dust 4.4 mg/m3
- Respirable dust 0.24 mg/m3
- NH3 active areas -- 25 ppm
unused unventilated -- 170 ppm - CO2 - 0.05 - 0.1
- CO, H2S, NO2, CH4, mercaptans, formaldehyde, --
below detectable levels - Airborne bacteria fungi -- 10,000 to 150,000
cfu/ml - Endotoxins
- total dust -- 0.77 to 61 mg/m3
- respirable dust -- 0.71 to 15 mg/m3
6Dust, gases and toxins
Ammonia ------ NIOSH TWA, 25 ppm STEL, 35
ppm Dust --------- NOISH 5 mg/m3 (respirable)
7 Ammonia NIOSH TWA, 25 ppm STEL, 35
ppm OSHA - STEL, 35 ppm Odor
threshold 1-5 ppm. Effect on humans 6 to 20
ppm gt Eye irritant, respiratory problems 100
ppm (1 hr) Irritation to mucous surfaces 5,000
ppm Respiratory spasms, rapid suffocation
10,000 ppm gt Death
8- Hydrogen sulfide
- OSHA TWA, 10 ppm STEL, 55 ppm
- Odor threshold 0.0002 ppm.
- Effect on humans
- 10 ppm Eye irritation
- 200 ppm (1 hr.) Dizziness, CNS,
pneumonia - 600 ppm gt Rapid death
9Dust particles
- Sources
- automated dry-feed handling systems
- feces feathers, dust mites
- manure particles from birds on solid floors
- particulate matter
- viral, bacterial, fungal agents
- Effects on human health
- Breathing dusty air for an extended time
- chronic bronchitis
- capacity to take in and exhale oxygen may be
reduced - increased susceptibility to respiratory diseases
such as colds - episodes of flu-like illness with fever might
develop - adverse allergic reactions may result
- NOISH 5 mg/m3 (respirable)
10Endotoxins
- Poultry confinement workers are potentially
exposed to large amounts of gram-negative
bacterial endotoxins - however respiratory health effects of such
exposures have yet to be determined - How much endotoxin ?
- Duration of exposure ?
11Asthma, and respiratory illnesses
- Chronic bronchitis in farmers
( Norway, Melbostad et al., 1997) - 8, 634 farmers
- work time
- years of exposure in farming
- production type
- dusty occupation outside farming
- combination of work exposure
- smoking
- Conclusions working in dusty environments over
time increases the risk of contracting chronic
bronchitis by 2-to 3- fold. Smoking increases the
risk up to 6-fold.
12Respiratory health profiles of poultry workers
(South Africa, Rees et al., 1998)
- Work related cough -- 37
- Work related wheeze -- 23
- Most complained about eye, skin and nose
irritation - Symptoms of asthma and organic dust exposure
- controls -- 3
- low exposure -- 4
- medium exposure -- 13
- high exposure -- 11
13Prevalence of work related respiratory symptoms
in workers exposed to organic dust
( UK, Simpson et al., 1998)
- 1032 workers (9 industries)
- Highest prevalence of work related lower
respiratory tract (38.1), upper respiratory
tract (45.2) and chronic bronchitis (15.5)
were found among poultry workers - Exposure time
- Women more likely to report
- Smoking
14Respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function in
chicken catchers ( CDC, USA, Morris et al .,
1991)
- 59 chicken catchers
- Chicken catchers reported a high rate of acute
symptoms associated with work in poultry houses - chronic phlegm (39)
- chronic wheezing (27.1)
- lowered forced vital capacity (-2.2)
- lowered FEV -3/4)
- Conclusion Chicken catchers at risk of
respiratory dysfunction
15Health effects of exposure to endotoxins and
organic dust in poultry slaughter house workers
( Sweden, Hagmar et al., 1990)
- 23 dust exposed shacklers
- before and after work pulmonary function tests
- breathing zone levels of both total dust and
endotoxins monitored during the whole shift. - Results
- reduced pulmonary function total dust -- 6.3
mg/m3 - endotoxins -- 0.4 micrograms/m3
- airborne bacteria-- 400,000 to 1,000,000 CFU/m3
16Extrinsic allergic alveolitis
- Vehicle Exposure to organic dust lt 5 microns in
size - Symptoms Recurrent episodes of fever, chills,
dry cough, dyspnea following exposure after 6 hr
interval (10-40 asymptomatic) resolution may
occur in days or weeks after exposure ceases - Antigen protein
- Source bird serum, droppings, feathers
17AMA guidelines for rating respiratory impairment
- Test for 1) Dyspnea, and
2) Ventilatory function - Procedures to evaluate impairment of the
respiratory system - Complete history and physical examination with
special reference to cardiopulmonary symptoms and
signs - Chest x-ray
- hematocrit
- electrocardiogram
- Tests for ventilation
- Blood gas tests
18Asthma, and respiratory illnesses
- Summary
- Respiratory diseases can be acquired by working
in poultry environments - Duration, dose, age, sex and personal habits
influence the risk of respiratory diseases
19Allergies - reported in literature
- Antigens
- Hen and duck serum
- Aspergillus antigens
- Intestinal extracts
- Antibiotics ( ceftiofur, virginiamicin,
lincomycin, spectinomycin) - Ethoxyquin
- Grain beetle
20Dermatoses
- Poultry slaughter house workers
- Staphylcoccus aureus, Group L Streptococci
- Trichophytia, Candida albicans
- Chicken poison disease dermatoses among
poultry workers ( Marks et al., 1983) - South central Pennsylvania poultry processing
plant - patients at a clinic seen from Jan 81- July 82
- 3 with allergic contact dermatitis
- 1 with irritant contact dermatitis
- 150 poultry workers examined
- 9 workers with 13 types of dermatosis
- Candida infections, irritant contact dermatitis,
allergic contact dermatitis, abrasions and cuts,
warts and eczema
21Psittacosis (Ornithosis)
- Turkey processing plant workers in Texas,
Nebraska, and Missouri - 1974 - Turkeys in Texas source of Chlamydia psittaci
- Turkey processing plant workers, Nebraska- 1976
- 28 workers serologically confirmed
- workers in contact with turkey tissues and had
skin injuries were more likely to be infected - Poultry workers, Britain - 1980
- 23 poultry workers, 9 duck workers
- contact with poultry should be considered in
making a diagnosis
22Psittacosis (Ornithosis)
- Duck processors, Britain - 1985
- 13 of 80 (16) workers had clinical signs
- highest attack rate in those on production line
- asymptomatic chlamydial infections in ducks
- Turkey workers, Minnesota -1989
- 186 of 122 (66) workers sero-positive
- workers handling viscera at greatest risk
- Duck farm and processing plant, Australia - 1989
- 76 of workers exposed to infection
- rodent and wild bird control programs
23Campylobacter enteritis
- Poultry abattoir workers, Sweden - 1980
- 37 cases of acute gastroenteritis, 24 positive on
culture test - outbreak occurred when several temporary workers
were hired in summer - Farm workers in Ontario, Canada - 1995
- No data
24Salmonella infections
- Russia
- 60.7 of poultry plant workers and 9.8 of
meat-packing plant workers sero-positive
(Sergevnin et al., 1992). - In contact with pathological material, or ate raw
sausages - 8.8 of poultry workers and 6.1 of duck workers
asymptomatic carriers of Salmonella ( Kotova et
al., 1988)
25Viral Infections
- Serologic evidence of avian adeno-associated
virus infection (USA, Yates et al., 1991) - 6 of unselected adults
- 14.3 of poultry workers
- results suggested that A-AV infections not
restricted to avian species but are found in the
human adult population - Chinese farm families with household ducks an
pigs share influenza viruses ( Shu et al ., 1996) - Intermingling of humans, pigs and ducks on
Chinese farms are favorable to the generation of
new, and potentially hazardous strains of
influenza virus - Poultry workers in India sero-positive for
Newcastle disease virus ( Charan et al., 1981)
26Other infections
- Outbreak of streptococcal infection in chicken
factory in Britain, 1980 - 103 episodes in 82 workers
- highest incidence in the packing dept. ( attack
rate 44) - route of introduction, spread remains unknown
- Streptococcus pyogenes
- Otitis externa in chicken catchers
- red poultry mite (dermanyssus gallinae)
- Erysipelas in quail processing plant in
Mississippi, 1995 - Erysipelas diagnosed in Coturnix quail
- workers with localized inflammation of fingers
27Warts among poultry processing workers
- Sweden ( Mergler et al ., 1982)
- 28.5 of processing plant workers had warts
- mild skin abrasion suspected to facilitate virus
infection New Zealand( Steher-Green et al., 1993) - 25 of poultry workers identified with HPV type
7 - Workers that handed dead, raw or unfrozen chicken
were 3 times more likely to develop warts - Risk of having warts not associated with
environmental factors or the frequency of cuts or
abrasions - Butchers warts no evidence of person to person
transmission of HPV-7 ( Keefe et al., 1994)
28Occupational Injuries
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- poultry processing plant workers
- Knuckle pads
- live chicken handlers
- Upper limb repetitive strain injuries
- 50 reported more than 1 of the 22 disorders
29Cancer
- Occurrence of cancer in women in meat industry,
Britain-1986 - 3-fold risk of death was observed both for
myeloid leukemia and non-Hodgkins lymphomas
among workers - Mortality from cancer and other diseases in
poultry processing plants, USA - 1997 - 2639 poultry processing plant workers and 6081
unexposed workers - increased risks oesophageal, liver and lymphatic
system cancers - need more follow up study
30Endocrine disorders
- Dysmenorrha and cold exposure
(Mergler and Vezina, 1985) - 213 poultry slaughter house workers and 105
housewives - poultry slaughterhouse workers had significantly
higher prevalence of dysmenorrhea (73.2) as
compared to housewives (52.5) - Cold exposures influences menstrual processes
31Life Goes on !!!!!!!
32The End !!!!!!!