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Exposure to pathogens among workers in a poultry slaughter and processing plant
Yaqi You1, Kimberly Leahy2, Carol Resnick1
1Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.
American Journal of Industrial Medicine
|May 13, 2016
Summary
Poultry plant workers face pathogen exposure risks. Slaughter and processing jobs significantly increase the odds of carrying gram-negative organisms (GNOs) compared to other roles.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health
- Microbiology
- Food Safety
Background:
- Poultry slaughter/processing plants present potential zoonotic pathogen exposure risks for workers.
- Understanding pathogen exposure related to specific job duties is crucial for worker safety.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate pathogen exposure among poultry slaughter/processing plant workers.
- To identify job duties as potential risk factors for pathogen exposure.
Main Methods:
- Collected questionnaire data on job duties from 110 poultry plant workers.
- Analyzed nasal swabs for Staphylococcus aureus and gram-negative organisms (GNOs).
- Screened isolates for antimicrobial susceptibility.
Main Results:
- No significant difference in Staphylococcus aureus carriage based on job duties.
- Slaughter/carcass processing workers had 6.29 times higher odds of GNO carriage.
- Cleaning/maintenance workers had 5.94 times higher odds of GNO carriage compared to office/packing workers.
Conclusions:
- Poultry processing plant workers may have elevated exposure to GNOs.
- Specific job duties, particularly in slaughter, processing, cleaning, and maintenance, are associated with increased GNO carriage.
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