Excess lung cancer occurrence in poultry plants. Occupational risk factors: Findings for oncogenic viruses exposure and other occupational exposures

A case-control study of occupational risk factors for pancreatic cancer in poultry plant workers: a random forest approach

BACKGROUND

Poultry plant workers are exposed to chemical carcinogens and oncogenic viruses in their work environment. Our objective was to identify jobs and workplaces related to poultries that could increase the pancreatic cancer risk.

METHODS

We conducted a case-control study within a defined cohort of poultry workers. We used a random forest algorithm to identify features that could increase pancreatic cancer in the poultry plant workers.

RESULTS

The mean age of participants was 59.49 years. The majority of the study participants were females (51.30%) and Whites (71.0%). The following workplaces and job tasks had an association with increased pancreatic cancer mortality: working in chicken and turkey plants, working in plants where food products were processed and canned, working in a place where poultry and animals where present, working as a hunter for game animals, working as a veterinarian in places had animals and different poultry birds, working in pet houses and working in places where birds were handled and killed. The accuracy and the area under the curve of the model were 72.3 and 71.50%.

CONCLUSION

Chicken and turkey plant workers could be at risk for pancreatic cancer mortality. We need to confirm the results in future studies.

Prevalence of Bovine Leukemia Virus (BLV) and Bovine Adenovirus (BAdV) genomes among air and surface samples in dairy production

We aimed to assess the occurrence of bovine viruses (bovine leukemia virus-BLV and bovine adenovirus-BAdV) at workplaces in traditional dairies and to evaluate the potential role of airborne and surface contamination in spreading of these viruses derived from raw milk. The total amount of 122 samples-including 37 air (bioaerosol), 40 surface, and 45 milk samples-were checked for the presence of BLV and BAdV genomes using RT-qPCR/qPCR method. The study showed that the viruses were present in 7 air (among them 71.4% were BLV-positive and 28.6% were BAdV-positive), 14 surface (among them 85.7% were BLV-positive and 14.3% were BAdV-positive), and 34 milk (all were BLV-positive only) samples. Statistical analysis revealed that both the air and surfaces in studied occupational environment were more frequently contaminated with BLV than with BAdV (Chi-square test: p = 0.002, Fisher's Exact test: p = 0.002). Kruskal-Wallis tests showed significant differences in BLV genome concentrations in the air (p = 0.045) as well as in BLV and BAdV genome concentrations on surfaces (p = 0.005 and p = 0.040, respectively) between studied processing areas. In units of genome copies (gc) per area, the highest concentrations of BLV and BAdV genomes in the air (9.8 × 10¹ ± 1.14 × 10² gc/m³ and 5.4 × 10¹ ± 9.1 × 10¹ gc/m³, respectively) and on surfaces (9.83 × 10² ± 7.41 × 10² gc/100cm² and 2.30 × 10² ± 3.8 × 10² gc/100cm², respectively) were observed in milk reception area. The air and surfaces of pre-production zones were also significantly more contaminated with BAdV genomes compared to production areas (Mann-Whitney test: p = 0.039 and p = 0.029, respectively). This study showed that dairy workers may be exposed to bovine viruses through the inhalation of bioaerosols and contact with contaminated surfaces. To reduce the probability of virus transmission from the raw milk to humans, efficient surface cleaning procedures degrading viral particles should be introduced and the use of personal protection equipment, especially within pre-production zones, should be required. As the raw milk may be a source of bovine viruses, the development of strategies for both the control and eradication of BLV and BAdV among cattle seems to be also urgently needed.