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Chen Y, Beattie H, Simpson A, Nicholls G, Sandys V, Keen C, Curran AD. A COVID-19 Outbreak in a Large Meat-Processing Plant in England: Transmission Risk Factors and Controls. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 20:6806. [PMID: 37835076 PMCID: PMC10572747 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20196806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Revised: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023]
Abstract
The meat-processing industry had frequent COVID-19 outbreaks reported worldwide. In May 2021, a large meat-processing plant in the UK had an outbreak affecting 4.1% (63/1541) of workers. A rapid on-site investigation was conducted to understand the virus transmission risk factors and control measures. This included observational assessments of work activities, control measures, real-time environmental measurements and surface microbial sampling. The production night-shift attack rate (11.6%, 44/380) was nearly five times higher than the production day-shift (2.4%, 9/380). Shared work transport was provided to 150 staff per dayshift and 104 per nightshift. Production areas were noisy (≥80 dB(A)) and physical distancing was difficult to maintain. Face visors were mandatory, additional face coverings were required for some activities but not always worn. The refrigeration system continuously recirculated chilled air. In some areas, the mean temperature was as low as 4.5 °C and mean relative humidity (RH) was as high as 96%. The adequacy of ventilation in the production areas could not be assessed reliably using CO2, due to the use of CO2 in the packaging process. While there were challenges in the production areas, the observed COVID-19 control measures were generally implemented well in the non-production areas. Sixty surface samples from all areas were tested for SARS-CoV-2 RNA and 11.7% were positive. Multi-layered measures, informed by a workplace specific risk assessment, are required to prevent and control workplace outbreaks of COVID-19 or other similar respiratory infectious diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiqun Chen
- Science Division, Health and Safety Executive, Buxton SK17 9JN, UK
| | - Helen Beattie
- Science Division, Health and Safety Executive, Buxton SK17 9JN, UK
| | - Andrew Simpson
- Science Division, Health and Safety Executive, Buxton SK17 9JN, UK
| | - Gillian Nicholls
- Science Division, Health and Safety Executive, Buxton SK17 9JN, UK
| | - Vince Sandys
- Science Division, Health and Safety Executive, Buxton SK17 9JN, UK
| | - Chris Keen
- Science Division, Health and Safety Executive, Buxton SK17 9JN, UK
| | - Andrew D Curran
- Science Division, Health and Safety Executive, Buxton SK17 9JN, UK
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Lynch JF, Church CC. Introduction to the Special Issue on COVID-19. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2023; 153:573. [PMID: 36732234 DOI: 10.1121/10.0017033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a global event affecting all aspects of human life and society, including acoustic aspects. In this Special Issue on COVID-19 and acoustics, we present 48 papers discussing the acoustical impacts of the pandemic and how we deal with it. The papers are divided into seven categories which include: physical masking and speech production, speech perception, noise, the underwater soundscape, the urban soundscape, pathogen transmissibility, and medical diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- James F Lynch
- Department of Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA
| | - Charles C Church
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, National Center for Physical Acoustic, University of Mississippi, 1 Coliseum Drive University, Mississippi 38677, USA
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The Skagit County choir COVID-19 outbreak - have we got it wrong? Public Health 2023; 214:85-90. [PMID: 36525760 PMCID: PMC9659549 DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2022.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Revised: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Over time, papers or reports may come to be taken for granted as evidence for some phenomenon. Researchers cite them without critically re-examining findings in the light of subsequent work. This can give rise to misleading or erroneous results and conclusions. We explore whether this has occurred in the widely reported outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 at a rehearsal of the Skagit Valley Chorale in March 2020, where it was assumed, and subsequently asserted uncritically, that the outbreak was due to a single infected person. STUDY DESIGN Review of original report and subsequent modelling and interpretations. METHODS We reviewed and analysed original outbreak data in relation to published data on incubation period, subsequent modelling drawing on the data, and interpretations of transmission characteristics of this incident. RESULTS We show it is vanishingly unlikely that this was a single point source outbreak as has been widely claimed and on which modelling has been based. CONCLUSION An unexamined assumption has led to erroneous policy conclusions about the risks of singing, and indoor spaces more generally, and the benefits of increased levels of ventilation. Although never publicly identified, one individual bears the moral burden of knowing what health outcomes have been attributed to their actions. We call for these claims to be re-examined and for greater ethical responsibility in the assumption of a point source in outbreak investigations.
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Searles M, Wong R. Food Insecurity and COVID-19 Diagnosis: Findings from a National United States Sample. JOURNAL OF HUNGER & ENVIRONMENTAL NUTRITION 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/19320248.2022.2128961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Madison Searles
- Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Norton College of Medicine, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - Roger Wong
- Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Norton College of Medicine, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA
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Klein MD, Sciaudone M, Richardson D, Lacayo R, McClean CM, Kharabora O, Murray K, Zivanovich MM, Strohminger S, Gurnett R, Markmann AJ, Bhowmik DR, Salgado EM, Castro-Arroyo E, Aiello AE, Boyce RM, Juliano JJ, Bowman NM. SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and risk factors among meat packing, produce processing, and farm workers. PLOS GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 2:e0000619. [PMID: 36962464 PMCID: PMC10022315 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0000619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Meat packing, produce processing, and farm workers are known to have an elevated risk of COVID-19, but occupational risk factors in this population are unclear. We performed an observational cohort study of meat packing, produce processing, and farm workers in North Carolina in fall 2020. Blood, saliva, and nasal turbinate samples were collected to assess for SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity. Risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity were investigated using chi-square tests, two-sample t-tests, and adjusted risk ratio analyses. Among 118 enrolled workers, the baseline SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence was 50.0%. Meat packing plant workers had the highest SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence (64.6%), followed by farm workers (45.0%) and produce processing workers (10.0%), despite similar sociodemographic characteristics. Compared to SARS-CoV-2 seronegative workers, seropositive workers were more likely to work in loud environments that necessitated yelling to communicate (RR: 1.83, 95% CI: 1.25-2.69), work in cold environments (RR: 1.58, 95% CI: 1.12-2.24), or continue working despite developing symptoms at work (RR: 1.63, 95% CI: 1.14-2.32). After adjusting for age and working despite symptoms, high occupational noise levels were associated with a 1.72 times higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity (95% CI: 1.16-2.55). Half of food processing workers showed evidence of past SARS-CoV-2 infection, a prevalence five times higher than most of the United States population at the time of the study. Work environments with loud ambient noise may pose elevated risks for SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Our findings also highlight the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 among underserved and economically disadvantaged Latinx communities in the United States.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa D. Klein
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Michael Sciaudone
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - David Richardson
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Roberto Lacayo
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Colleen M. McClean
- School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Oksana Kharabora
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Katherine Murray
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Miriana Moreno Zivanovich
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Stephen Strohminger
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Rachel Gurnett
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Alena J. Markmann
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - D. Ryan Bhowmik
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Emperatriz Morales Salgado
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Edwin Castro-Arroyo
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Allison E. Aiello
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Ross M. Boyce
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Jonathan J. Juliano
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Natalie M. Bowman
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
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