Occupational Health and Safety Issues on Poultry Farms

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Occupational Health and Safety Issues on Poultry
Farms

• Bhushan Jayarao, MVSc, Ph.D., MPH
• Extension Veterinarian
• Department of Veterinary Science
• Pennsylvania State University

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Changes 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

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Changes 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

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What 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)

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Environmental 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

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Dust, gases and toxins
Ammonia ------ NIOSH TWA, 25 ppm STEL, 35
ppm Dust --------- NOISH 5 mg/m3 (respirable)
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Ammonia NIOSH TWA, 25 ppm STEL, 35
ppm OSHA - STEL, 35 ppm Odor
threshold 1-5 ppm. Effect on humans 6 to 20
ppm Eye irritant, respiratory problems 100
ppm (1 hr) Irritation to mucous surfaces 5,000
ppm Respiratory spasms, rapid suffocation
10,000 ppm Death
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• 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 Rapid death

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Dust 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)

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Endotoxins

• 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 ?

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Asthma, 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.

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Respiratory 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

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Prevalence 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

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Respiratory 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

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Health 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

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Extrinsic allergic alveolitis

• Vehicle Exposure to organic dust 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

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AMA 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

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Asthma, 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

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Allergies - reported in literature

• Antigens
• Hen and duck serum
• Aspergillus antigens
• Intestinal extracts
• Antibiotics ( ceftiofur, virginiamicin,
  lincomycin, spectinomycin)
• Ethoxyquin
• Grain beetle

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Dermatoses

• 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

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Psittacosis (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

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Psittacosis (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

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Campylobacter 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

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Salmonella 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)

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Viral 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)

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Other 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

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Warts 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)

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Occupational 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

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Cancer

• 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

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Endocrine 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

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Life Goes on !!!!!!!
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The End !!!!!!!