Occupational diseases

This paper does not deal with occupational diseases in the narrow legal sense of the word but as part of all public health risks. Occupational health risks of the modern large-scale animal production on intensive farms differ radically from those of the traditional mixed small production farms. The main groups of occupational diseases in intensive large-scale animal production are: 1) Zoonoses. Their occurrence obviously depends on the epizootological situation. They are divided into the following groups: classic zoonoses, zoonoses with complicated ecologic relations, zoonoses associated with soil, zoonoses with natural foci or with reservoirs outside farms. 2) Lung diseases: chronic bronchitis, farmers' and brewers' lung precancerous conditions. 3) Skin diseases and allergies: dermatites, eczema and allergies. 4) Affections due to physical and mental stress: changes in the locomotor system and CNS, contribution to the development of "civilization diseases". 5) Accidents, poisoning, noise and vibration effects.