PURPOSE To test the hypothesis that exposure to poultry oncogenic viruses that widely occurs occupationally in poultry workers and in the general population, may be associated with increased risks of deaths from liver and pancreatic cancers, and to identify new risk factors. METHODS A pilot case-cohort study of both cancers within a combined cohort of 30,411 highly exposed poultry workers and...

BACKGROUND An outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza A virus subtype H7N7 started at the end of February, 2003, in commercial poultry farms in the Netherlands. Although the risk of transmission of these viruses to humans was initially thought to be low, an outbreak investigation was launched to assess the extent of transmission of influenza A virus subtype H7N7 from chickens to humans. ...

Introduction Since the emergence of avian influenza A(H7N9) virus in 2013, extensive surveillances have been established to monitor the human infection and environmental contamination with avian influenza virus in southern China. At the end of 2015, human infection with influenza A(H5N6) virus was identified in Shenzhen for the first time through these surveillances. These surveillances include...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate muscular strain in the upper limbs of workers in a freeze-processing plant for poultry by developing a tool for quantitative analysis, yielding a final score, which can provide diagnostic support in legal proceedings. METHODS The Strain index proposed by Moore & Garg was used to quantify biomechanical aspects of muscular strain, evaluating the intensity and duration of e...

Understanding interactions between animals and humans is critical in preventing outbreaks of zoonotic disease. This is particularly important for avian influenza. Food animal production has been transformed since the 1918 influenza pandemic. Poultry and swine production have changed from small-scale methods to industrial-scale operations. There is substantial evidence of pathogen movement betwe...

Eggshell penetration by pathogens is considered a potential route for their transmission in poultry flocks. Additionally, in case of zoonotic pathogens, contact with infected eggs or their consumption can result in human infection. Chlamydia psittaci is a zoonotic bacterium that causes a respiratory disease in poultry and humans. In this study, we provide an experimental evidence for eggshell p...

Chlamydia psittaci is an obligately intracellular Gram-negative bacterium causing respiratory disease (chlamydiosis) or asymptomatic carriage in birds. C. psittaci is a zoonotic agent causing psittacosis or parrot fever in humans. Vertical and/or horizontal transmission via eggs might have serious repercussions on the C. psittaci infection status of poultry flocks and thus on zoonotic risk for ...

In poultry several Chlamydia species have been detected, but Chlamydia psittaci and Chlamydia gallinacea appear to be most prevalent and important. Chlamydia psittaci is a well-known zoonosis and is considered to be a pathogen of poultry. Chlamydia gallinacea has been described more recently. Its avian pathogenicity and zoonotic potential have to be further elucidated. Within the Netherlands no...