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Tytuł:
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Occupational and environmental exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in and around infected mink farms.
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Autorzy:
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de Rooij MMT; Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands .
Hakze-Van der Honing RW; Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, Lelystad, The Netherlands.
Hulst MM; Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, Lelystad, The Netherlands.
Harders F; Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, Lelystad, The Netherlands.
Engelsma M; Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, Lelystad, The Netherlands.
van de Hoef W; Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Meliefste K; Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Nieuwenweg S; Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Oude Munnink BB; Department of Viroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
van Schothorst I; Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Sikkema RS; Department of Viroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
van der Spek AN; Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Spierenburg M; Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Spithoven J; Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Bouwstra R; GD Animal Health, Deventer, The Netherlands.
Molenaar RJ; GD Animal Health, Deventer, The Netherlands.
Koopmans M; Department of Viroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Stegeman A; Farm Animal Health, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
van der Poel WHM; Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, Lelystad, The Netherlands.
Smit LAM; Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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Źródło:
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Occupational and environmental medicine [Occup Environ Med] 2021 Dec; Vol. 78 (12), pp. 893-899. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Jul 30.
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Typ publikacji:
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Journal Article
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Język:
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English
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Imprint Name(s):
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Original Publication: London : BMJ Pub. Group, c1994-
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MeSH Terms:
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Environmental Exposure*
Farms*
Occupational Exposure*
Dust/*analysis
Mink/*virology
RNA, Viral/*isolation & purification
SARS-CoV-2/*isolation & purification
Animals ; Humans ; Netherlands/epidemiology
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Contributed Indexing:
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Keywords: COVID-19; air pollution; environment; farmers; viruses
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Substance Nomenclature:
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0 (Dust)
0 (RNA, Viral)
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Entry Date(s):
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Date Created: 20210731 Date Completed: 20211122 Latest Revision: 20230829
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Update Code:
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20240105
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DOI:
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10.1136/oemed-2021-107443
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PMID:
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34330815
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Objective: Unprecedented SARS-CoV-2 infections in farmed minks raised immediate concerns regarding transmission to humans and initiated intensive environmental investigations to assess occupational and environmental exposure.
Methods: Air sampling was performed at infected Dutch mink farms, at farm premises and at nearby residential sites. A range of other environmental samples were collected from minks' housing units, including bedding materials. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was analysed in all samples by quantitative PCR.
Results: Inside the farms, considerable levels of SARS-CoV-2 RNA were found in airborne dust, especially in personal inhalable dust samples (approximately 1000-10 000 copies/m 3 ). Most of the settling dust samples tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA (82%, 75 of 92). SARS-CoV-2 RNA was not detected in outdoor air samples, except for those collected near the entrance of the most recently infected farm. Many samples of minks' housing units and surfaces contained SARS-CoV-2 RNA.
Conclusions: Infected mink farms can be highly contaminated with SARS-CoV-2 RNA. This warns of occupational exposure, which was substantiated by considerable SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in personal air samples. Dispersion of SARS-CoV-2 to outdoor air was found to be limited and SARS-CoV-2 RNA was not detected in air samples collected beyond farm premises, implying a negligible risk of environmental exposure to nearby communities. Our occupational and environmental risk assessment is in line with whole genome sequencing analyses showing mink-to-human transmission among farm workers, but no indications of direct zoonotic transmission events to nearby communities.
Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared.
(© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)
