Exposures and Health Effects of Bioaerosols in Seafood Processing Workers - a Position Statement

• Published in: Journal of agromedicine Vol. 24; no. 4; pp. 441 - 448
• Main Authors: Bonlokke, Jakob H., Bang, Berit, Aasmoe, Lisbeth, Rahman, Anas M. Abdel, Syron, Laura N., Andersson, Eva, Dahlman-Höglund, Anna, Lopata, Andreas L., Jeebhay, Mohamed
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 02.10.2019; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Aerosols - adverse effects; Aerosols - analysis; Air Pollutants - adverse effects; Air Pollutants - analysis; Airborne microorganisms; allergens; Allergic reactions; allergy; Asthma; Bioaerosols; Blood vessels; Correlation analysis; crustaceans; Diagnostic systems; endotoxin; Environmental Health and Occupational Health; Exposure; fish; Folkhälsovetenskap, global hälsa, socialmedicin och epidemiologi; Food Handling - instrumentation; Food Handling - statistics & numerical data; Health risk assessment; Health risks; Humans; Hypersensitivity; Longitudinal Studies; Mechanical ventilation; Medical disciplines: 700; Medical personnel; Medisinske Fag: 700; Migrant workers; Miljömedicin och yrkesmedicin; Occupational Diseases - epidemiology; Occupational Diseases - etiology; Occupational exposure; Occupational Exposure - adverse effects; Occupational Exposure - analysis; Occupational hazards; Occupational Health; Occupational safety; Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology; Retrofitting; rhinitis; Risk factors; Seafood; VDP; Ventilation; crustaceans; bioaerosols; fish; Seafood; allergy; asthma; rhinitis; allergens; endotoxin
• ISSN: 1059-924X; 1545-0813; 1545-0813
• DOI: 10.1080/1059924X.2019.1646685

Occupational hazards exist in the processing of seafood both in land-based facilities as well as on board vessels. Recent findings on occupational injury and respiratory health risks among seafood processing workers were presented and discussed at the IFISH5 conference. Particular emphasis was put on the challenges that im/migrant workers encounter, the greater risks onboard factory vessels, especially where processing machinery are retrofitted to older vessels not primarily designed for this purpose, and the difficulties in assessing and preventing bioaerosol exposures and associated respiratory health risks despite recent advances in characterising agents responsible for allergic and non-allergic reactions. Based on appraisal of existing knowledge in the published literature and new findings presented at the conference, recommendations for immediate actions as well as for future research have been proposed. Among these include the importance of improving extraction ventilation systems, optimising machinery performance, enclosure of bioaerosol sources, improved work organization, and making special efforts to identify and support the needs of im/migrant workers to ensure they also benefit from such improvements. There is a need for studies that incorporate longitudinal study designs, have improved exposure and diagnostic methods, and that address seafood processing in countries with high seafood processing activities such as Asia and those that involve im/migrant workers worldwide. The medical and scientific community has an important role to play in prevention but cannot do this in isolation and should cooperate closely with hygienists, engineers, and national and international agencies to obtain better health outcomes for workers in the seafood industry.