Face shields in abattoirs and meat processing plants.

Abattoirs and meat processing plants has been labelled "hot spots" for Covid-19,this has prompted stringent restrictions and even shut-downs in some countries. The working conditions in these plants has been fingered as the likely cause of rapid spread of the Corona virus amongst workers.

 The operators of these facilities have changed operational protocols to ensure safety of workers and also food safety. The use of face shields significantly reduce the amount of inhalation exposure to influenza virus, another droplet-spread respiratory virus.

 In Australia, a part of Victoria's response to the COVID-19 crisis, is that meat works will move to two-thirds production with workers to be dressed in full protective personal clothing, including gowns and face shields.


 In Nigeria, some of the processors are already adopting  the change to ensure safety of workers and food safety. Meat processing facilities have taken steps to ensure safety such as coordination with state and local health agencies to reduce transmission or prevent ongoing exposure within the workplace, including offering testing to workers.

 There is daily screening of personnel prior to entering the plant and also temperature screening. An aggressive sanitation protocol throughout the day in all common areas and office spaces as well as additional cleanings each night.


Major food processors have installed protective barriers on the production floor between employees and provides full face shields for personnel performing any job where the installation of a protective barrier is not feasible due to the movements inherent in the performance of the job.

  Read why a face shield is better than a mask.

 Reporting in the April 29 Journal of the American Medical Association, experts led by Dr. Eli Perencevich, of the university's department of internal medicine, and the Iowa City VA Health Care System, said the face shield's moment may have come.

 While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began advocating the use of cloth masks to help stop COVID-19 transmission in April, laboratory testing "suggests that cloth masks provide [only] some filtration of virus-sized aerosol particles."

 According to Perencevich's group, "face shields may provide a better option." To be most effective in stopping viral spread, a face shield should extend to below the chin. It should also cover the ears and "there should be no exposed gap between the forehead and the shield's headpiece," the Iowa team members said.

 Shields are usually more comfortable to wear than masks, and they form a barrier that keeps people from easily touching their own faces. When speaking, people sometimes pull down a mask to make things easier -- but that isn't necessary with a face shield. And "the use of a face shield is also a reminder to maintain social distancing, but allows visibility of facial expressions and lip movements for speech perception,"


 Research from Johns Hopkins University has found that Covid-19 specifically can be contracted via the eyes, “through exposure to aerosolized droplets or hand-eye contact”. Face shields should only be one part of any infection control effort, along with social distancing and hand-washing.

HANTA VIRUS KILLS AGAIN!!

The Hanta virus is a deadly disease transmitted by infected rodents through urine, droppings or saliva. People can contract the disease when they breathe in the aerosolized virus resulting in Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome(HPS) The New Mexico Department of Health says a 54 year old man from Cibola County has died of hantavirus. An environmental investigation is been conducted at the patient's home to help reduce the risk to others. Since 1993, New Mexico has reported 103 lab-confirmed HPS cases with 43 deaths, the highest number of cases of any state.The New Mexico Department of Health reports that this is the second case of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome in the state this year.

AGRIBUSINESS: FERTILIZERS AND FERTILITY IN MAN.

A recent study by scientists at the universities of Nottingham, Aberdeen (UK) and Paris-Saclay (France), The James Hutton Institute (Aberdeen) and UMR BDR, INRA, Jouy en Josas (Paris, France) and published in the journal Scientific Reports, has shown striking effects of exposure of pregnant ewes and their female lambs in the womb to a cocktail of chemical contaminants present in pastures fertilized with human sewage sludge-derived fertilizer. Eating meat from animals grazed on land treated with commonly-used agricultural fertilizers might have serious implications for pregnant women and the future reproductive health of their unborn children. The study highlights potential risks associated with the common practice of grazing livestock on pastures on which human sewage sludge-derived fertilizer has been used. While low-level chemical exposure poses a threat to human reproductive development but the consumption of products from animals grazing such pastures proves to be a considerable environmental concern. The research group investigated development of ovaries in the fetal sheep, which is very similar to ovary development in humans. The pregnant sheep was exposed to sewage sludge-derived fertilizer to simulate 'real-life' exposure. Since the number of eggs present in the ovary at birth is determined while still in the womb, the research shows that the implications of disrupted ovary development could be significant. It suggests that chemicals that interfere with this development process, particularly those that mimic sex steroids, may have long-lasting effects on adult female fertility. The researchers report that the number of eggs in the fetus' ovary was reduced even if the period of exposure was limited to 80 days corresponding to early, mid or late gestation. However, a period of mid or late gestation exposure had a greater effect on the development of the fetus and the number of altered genes and proteins in the fetus' ovary. The biggest effects on the fetal ovary were seen when the sheep were switched to sewage sludge fertilized fields in the last two to three months of pregnancy. This suggests that changing exposures to chemical mixtures may be worse than always being exposed to these mixtures. The role of the environment is spread of diseases and impact on health status can not be ignored ,hence steps to reduce contamination of sewage sludge-derived fertilizer are important and proper sanitation protocols must be enforced.

Agro-Veterinary Business: role of environment in antibiotic resistance.

Antibiotic resistance is a global issue with developing countries being mostly affected .The research as to ways to combat the super bug effect has looked into techniques of animal production with the view that if antibiotic use is reduced in farm animals then there will not be any residues in the products thus eliciting development of antibiotic strains in man resulting in difficulty in treatment of simple conditions such as diarrhoea. 

 The reduction and absolute banning of antibiotics in farmed animals has shown dramatic changes in the antibiotic residues,but the identification of some antibiotic resistance strains that was not used even during production,has beam the search on another possible route of transmission. 

 The environment is the mixing media where various pathogens interact, pathogens from man,animals are exchanged freely .Antibiotics released into the environment may be spread through plants which later are consumed by humans, or by livestock. 

 The consequence is that relatively harmless conditions such as diarrhea caused by resistant coli bacteria or salmonella bacteria become dangerous or even lethal. 

 Drugs discharged into the environment are a problem in many parts of the world and antibiotics are spread in nature through urine from animals and humans, and many unfortunately have a very long life span.

 The problem is very pronounced in many African countries because of poor sanitation conditions . The quality of drugs available to man and animals also play a role in development of resistance,many countries with poor drug regulations where concentrations of active ingredients are not accurate,or the active ingredient is not even in the preparation( fake drugs). 

This results in repeated treatment where the bacteria is not destroyed but becomes resistant to the drug.The environment is the mixing vat,and unless proper disposal of drugs,feces are incorporated into sanitation laws the problem will persist.

PERSONAL HYGIENE.

Cleanliness is the key to ensure better health,and all levels of hygiene protocols must be strictly imbibed.The benefit of simple hand washing has been shown to cut down disease transmission,so also the use of proper toilets has been shown to reduce incidence of cholera,diarrhea and stomach upset.These have been linked to unsanitary methods of waste disposal and toilet facilities. A new company has emerged to proffer solution; http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/b899d272-5090-11e5-8642-453585f2cfcd.html?ftcamp=Traffic/Offsite/Taboola/Sustainable_Development/AudMark#axzz3pzQifXqy