INTRODUCTION Farm workers are at a very high risk of occupational diseases due to exposure to pesticides resulting from inadequate education, training and safety systems. The farm worker spends a lot of time exposed to these harmful agrochemicals. Numerous acute cases with symptoms typical of agrochemical exposure were reported from the commercial farms. We assessed the health effects of agroch...

In this study we have examined 532 migrant farm workers engaged mainly in the cultivation of vegetable crops, in both greenhouses and openfarms, and an equal number of controls. Erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase activity (AChE) was measured to determine the degree of toxicity due to exposure to organophosphate and carbamate pesticides in the farm workers employed either as foremen (41.5%) or far...

Research on the epidemiology of agriculture-related injuries has largely ignored African-Americans and farm workers. This cohort study is the first to estimate injury rates and to evaluate prospectively risk factors for agriculture-related injuries and compare them among African-American and Caucasian farmers and African-American farm workers. A total of 1,246 subjects (685 Caucasian owners, 32...

Much uncertainty remains about the origin and public health implications of livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA). This study aimed to investigate the occurrence and prevalence of MRSA in general and LA-MRSA in particular in pigs and farm workers in five states. We collected nasal swabs from pigs and farm workers at 45 swine herds (21 antibiotic-free herds; ...

UNLABELLED BACKGROUND Dairy farming is physically demanding and associated with a high frequency of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). This study investigated and compared work-related MSD, ergonomic work factors and physical exertion in farmers and employed farm workers on dairy farms in Sweden. METHODS The study comprised 66 dairy farmers, and 37 employed dairy farm workers. A modified ver...

BACKGROUND Livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) has a wide host range and is transmissible to humans, especially to those with close contact to colonized animals. This study presents the first data on the occurrence of MRSA in farm workers and livestock farms (pig, cattle and poultry) in the federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in northeast German...

Rollover protective structures (ROPS) are an effective engineering control known to prevent tractor overturn deaths, the leading cause of occupational fatalities for farmers and farm workers in the U.S. However, the use of ROPS is known to vary greatly from farm to farm. A national sample of 11,458 farm operators from the 2004 Occupational Injury Surveillance of Production Agriculture (OISPA) s...

A 1-year prospective study was carried out to look for risk factors of farm-related injuries in Egusquiza, Santa Fe (Argentina). Information on demographic characteristics and occupational accidents was collected on (N=110, n=78) farm workers by means of personal interviews using a structured questionnaire. Monthly telephone contact was then maintained with the workers for 1 year ...

The objective of the study was to describe self-reported health symptoms, the use of personal protective gear and clothing and poor safety procedures when applying pesticides among farm workers. A total of 128 adult farm workers were interviewed using a structured questionnaire during the farming season. The commonly used pesticides included profenofos, mancozeb, chlorpyrifos, cypermethrin, del...