Public Health Threats

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The Center for a Livable Future at Johns Hopkins University

The Center works to increase the body of knowledge about the interconnections among diet, food production, human health, and the natural environment in order to influence public policy toward more equitable and sustainable systems. Be sure to view CLF’s Agriculture & Public Health Gateway, an online database of information about public health, agriculture, and the connections between these two fields.

General Resources

Avian Influenza Information

Prepared by experts at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, this site is an outstanding source of information about avian flu, pandemic preparedness, and the latest news and research on these topics.

Airborne Drug Resistant Bacteria in a Swine CAFO

Breathing air near a concentrated swine feeding operation may serve as an exposure pathway for the transfer of multi-drug resistant bacteria from swine to humans. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have detected bacteria resistant to at least two antibiotics important to the treatment of human disease in air samples collected from inside a large-scale swine operation in the Mid-Atlantic region. Although the greatest health risk is borne by workers in these facilities, workers may also become reservoirs of drug-resistant bacteria, and thus spread the bacteria to the larger community. The article is published in the online edition of Environmental Health Perspectives.

APHA Resolution Calls for Moratorium on Factory Farms

The American Public Health Association (APHA), the largest professional society for US public health and safety officials entrusted with our health and wellbeing, has issued a call for local, state, and federal officials to enact a moratorium on any new factory farms because of their devastating effects on human health and the environment. Learn more about factory farm moratoria on our Regulations, Enforcement, & Legislation page.

EnvironmentalHealth Impacts of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations: Anticipating Hazards – Searching for Solutions: Workgroup Reports

In March 2004, expert environmental scientists attended a conference to address the environmental health problems created by factory farms. Environmental Health Perspectivespublished the conference’s workgroup reports, which provide an overview of current scientific research, note topics that require additionalresearch, and suggest policy initiatives to protect public and environmental health. The following workgroup reports are available on the Environmental Health Perspectives website:

CAFO Air Pollution and Children: A Prescription for Precaution

This factsheet includes information about the harmful impact of air pollution from factory farms on the health of children. The document contains facts from recent scientific studies, and includes reference citations so you can find the original articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Download as pdf file or Word document.

CAFOs: Human Health and Community Impacts

A handy brochure that you can print and distribute to your community. It describes the main health impacts of living near a CAFO, such as respiratory illness, neurological problems and antimicrobial resistance, along with the effects of these facilities on the community, such as odor and water pollution and economic downturns.

CAFOs: Public Health Impacts

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) partners with organizations around the world to analyze how global trade agreements influence domestic farm and food policies, which in turn impact health standards, labor and human rights, and the environment. They have prepared several detailed fact sheets for health professionals on the following topics:

Family Farm Health and Hazard Surveillance System

The NIOSH Farm Family Health and Hazard Surveillance (FFHHS) Cooperative Agreement Program was developed to respond to Congress’s concern that agricultural workers and their families experience a disproportionate share of disease and injury associated with the chemical, biological, physical, ergonomic, and psychological hazards of agriculture.

Food Code 1997

Model requirements for safeguarding public health and ensuring that food is unadulterated and honestly presented to the consumer. Incorporates input from the Food and Drug Administration, USDA, and Department of Health and Human Services.

FoodNews.org

Interactive site hosted by the Environmental Working Group. Find out how many pesticides made it into your shopping cart.

The Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Center for a Livable Future

Reports

Airborne Drug Resistant Bacteria in a Swine CAFO

Breathing air near a concentrated swine feeding operation may serve as an exposure pathway for the transfer of multi-drug resistant bacteria from swine to humans. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have detected bacteria resistant to at least two antibiotics important to the treatment of human disease in air samples collected from inside a large-scale swine operation in the Mid-Atlantic region. Although the greatest health risk is borne by workers in these facilities, workers may also become reservoirs of drug-resistant bacteria, and thus spread the bacteria to the larger community. The article is published in the online edition of Environmental Health Perspectives.

Associations between Indicators of Livestock Farming Intensity and Incidence of Human Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli Infection

Cattle are the principal reservoir for E. coli O157:H7, one of the most hazardous strains of bacteria. This report examines potential routes of human infection and finds a strong association between the incidence of infection and cattle density. (Centers for Disease Control, May 2002.)

Cesspools of Shame: How Factory Farm Lagoons and SprayfieldsThreaten Environmental and Public Health

This report from the Natural Resources Defense Council and Clean Water Network documents how animal waste from factory farms threatens human health and our nation’s rivers. (July 2001.)

Concentrated Animal Feedlot Operations (CAFOs) Chemicals Associated with Air Emissions

After conducting a review of the existing scientific literature concerning air emissions from CAFOs, the CAFO subcommittee of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality summarized its findings in this report. The document provides an overview of the air pollutants emitted by CAFOs, notes the regulatory levels of chemicalconcern, and describes the potential human health impacts of these pollutants. Although the authors emphasize that additionalresearch is necessary to fully assess these human health effects, the report provides a useful overview of existing health studies. (CAFO subcommittee of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) Toxics Steering Group (TSG), May 2006.)

A Control Study of the Physical and Mental Effects of Living Near Large Scale Swine Operations

Presents the results of a study assessing the physicaland mental health of residents living near a large-scale swine confinement operation. (Kendall Thu, et. al.)

Cost of Illness in the 1993 Waterborne Cryptosporidium Outbreak, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

A study of one of the largest outbreaks of waterborne illness associated with a contaminated public water source. The total estimated cost of outbreak-associated illness was $96.2 million: $31.7 million in medical costs and $64.6 million in productivity losses. (Corso PS, Kramer MH, Blair KA, Addiss DG, Davis JP, Haddix AC. Emerging Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, April 2003.)

Does Animal Feeding Operation Pollution Hurt Public Health? A NationalLongitudinal Study of Health Externalities Identified By Geographic Shifts in Livestock Production

This study examines the effects of pollution from livestock facilities on infant health, demonstrating that a doubling of livestock production leads to a 7.4% increase in infant mortality. The mortality increases are driven by elevated levels of respiratory diseases, which suggests that air pollution from livestock production presents a significant threat to human health. (Sneeringer, Stacy. American Journal of Agricultural Economics. Vol. 91(1) February 2009.)
Read a press release. Read a summary published in Science News .

The Elderly and Waterborne Cryptosporidium Infection: Gastroenteritis Hospitalizations before and during the 1993 Milwaukee Outbreak

This study demonstrated that the elderly are at higher risk of severe disease due to Cryptosporidium infection, with a shorter incubation period than had been previously reported in all adults, and with a high risk for secondary person-to-person transmission. (Elena N. Naumova, Andrey I. Egorov, Robert D. Morris, and Jeffrey K. Griffiths, Emerging Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, April 2003.)

European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) BIOHAZ Studies

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published an assessment of the impact on public health of the use of antibiotics in food-producing animals. EFSA’s Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ Panel) concludes that the use of antimicrobials in food-producing animals is a risk factor for the spread of certain bacterial strains. The experts recommend that decreasing the overall use of antibiotics in food-producing animals in the EU should be a priority and that that an effective option would be to restrict or stop the use of cephalosporins in the treatment of food-producing animals.

In its assessment, the BIOHAZ Panel evaluated the risks to public health of bacterial strains producing two types of enzymes; extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL) and AmpC beta-lactamases (AmpC). These enzymes inactivate the effects of antimicrobials such as penicillins and cephalosporins which are defined as critically important antimicrobials for both human and veterinary medicine.

The report is linked immediately below, in two parts:

Part 1 of Pig Welfare and Recommendations (pdf 106 pages)

Part 2 – of Pig Welfare and Recommendations (pdf 106 pages, published July 2011)

Food AnimalTransport: A potentialsource of community exposures to health hazards from industrial farming (CAFOs)

Published by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, this article describes a study of air and surface samples collected from vehicles traveling behind trucks carrying broiler chickens in crates from factory farms to slaughterhouses. Researchers found that these samples contained an increased number of total aerobic bacteria including both susceptible and antibiotic-resistant enterococci. The study suggests that food animaltransport in open crates can expose humans to harmful microorganisms and may disseminate these pathogens into the general environment. (Journal of Infection and Public Health. August 2008.)

Food Recall and Public Health Alerts Information

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) provides current recall and alert data specific to meat, poultry and processed egg products. The site also manages a Recall Case Archive and provides links to additional federal and state agencies involved with food safety issues.

SRA Project has compiled this data into a series of charts our readers can download and print for their own use. The can be found on our Features Page.

Health Effects of Breathing Air Near CAFOs for Feeder Cattle or Hogs

This article summarizes the results of existing studies of the health effects of exposure to air pollutants emitted by cattle and hog factory farms. (Von Essen, Sussana G., and Auvermann, Brent W. Journal of Agromedicine. Vol. 10 (4) 2005.)

Food-Related Illness and Death in the United States

To better quantify the impact of foodborne diseases on health in the United States, the CDC compiled and analyzed information from multiple surveillance systems and other sources and estimated that foodborne diseases cause approximately 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths in the United States each year. (CDC, Emerging Infectious Diseases, November-December 1999.)

Greener Pastures: How grass-fed beef and milk contribute to healthy eating

This is the first study to synthesize the findings of virtually every English-language study (25 were chosen for analysis) comparing the amounts of total fats, saturated fats, omega-3 fatty acids, and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in pasture-raised and conventionally raised beef and dairy cattle. The report also includes analyses of the nutritional, environmental, and public health benefits of grass-based farming techniques. (Union of Concerned Scientists, April 19, 2006.)

Human Health Effects of Agriculture: Physical Diseases and Illnesses

Discusses the progress made in identification of new respiratory syndromes related to CAFOs, pesticide-related illnesses, and cancers associated with agricultural exposures. (Steven Kirkhorn, M.D., M.P.H., FACOEM, Immanuel St. Joseph’s-Mayo Health System and Marc B Schenker, M.D., M.P.H., Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of California Davis, 2001.)

Human Health Effects of Dust Exposure in Animal Confinement Buildings

An abstract describing the high rate of work-related respiratory symptoms in swine farmers. (Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health, 6(4):283-288, November 2000.)

Intensive Livestock Operations, Health, and Quality of Life among Eastern North Carolina Residents

Conducted by researchers from the University of North Carolina School of Public Health, this study revealed that individuals living near a hog CAFO reported decreased quality of life and increased occurrences of headaches, runny nose, sore throat, excessive coughing, diarrhea, and burning eyes as compared to residents of a rural community with no intensive livestock operations. (Steve Wing and Susanne Wolf, Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 108, 3, March 2000.)

Livestock Manure Stinks for Infant Health: Megafarm production associated with infant illness, death rates

New research examining two decades’ worth of livestock production data finds a positive relationship between increased production at industrial farms and infant death rates in the counties where the farms reside. The study implicates air pollution and suggests that Clean Air Act regulations need to be revamped to address livestock production of noxious gases.* (Ehrenberg, Rachel. Science News. January 16, 2009.)
*The study described in this article is titled “Does Animal Feeding Operation Pollution Hurt Public Health? A NationalLongitudinal Study of Health Externalities Identified By Geographic Shifts in Livestock Production.” It was published in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics.

Plasma Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I and Prostate Cancer Risk: A Prospective Study

This investigation of the associations between insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) and prostate cancer risk shows a significant link between high levels of IGF-1 and incidence of prostate cancer. IGF-1 is a chemical produced by all mammals, and the milk of rBGH-treated cows contains high levels of bovine IGF-1, which is identicalin chemical structure to human IGF-1. This study has alarming implications for men who are taking growth hormone stimulators as well as anyone who drinks rBGH-treated milk. You must register to read the abstract, and pay to read the article. (Harvard School of Public Health/Science Magazine, 1998.)

Potential Public Health Impacts Of The Use Of Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin In Dairy Production

This paper summarizes new evidence and interprets three key issues: Do IGF-1 levels in milk from rBST-treated cows pose a threat to human health?; does use of rBST increase udder infection and thereby lead to increased antibiotic residues in dairy products or exacerbate problems of antibiotic resistance; and does rBST use potentially exacerbate BSE risks? (Consumers Union, 1997.)

Putting Meat on the Table: Industrial Farm Animal Production in America

Produced by the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production, this comprehensive report provides a detailed description of the detrimental impacts of factory farms on public health, the environment, animal welfare, and rural communities. The report also includes the Commission’s six primary recommendations for improving the sustainability of animal agriculture in the future.

Race, Poverty, and Potential Exposure of Middle-School Students to Air Emissions from Confined Swine Feeding Operations

This study investigates the extent to which public school students may be exposed to airborne effluent from swine CAFOsand evaluates the association between schools’ demographic characteristics and swine CAFO exposures. Previous studies suggest that airborne effluent from swine confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) may affect the health and quality of life of adults and the prevalence of asthma symptoms among children. (Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 114, Number 4, April 2006.)

Report on Livestock Confinement Dust and Gas Effect on Workers

Hazardous dusts and gases induce the strongest and most frequent human respiratory responses in swine confinement buildings. This report from Iowa State University concentrates on workers in swine confinement buildings, although similar respiratory responses could occur among workers in other types of livestock confinement operations. (National Ag Safety Database, June 1992.)

Symptomatic Effects of Exposure to Diluted Air Sampled from a Swine Confinement Atmosphere on Healthy Human Subjects

In this study, aerial emissions from a swine house at North Carolina State University’s field laboratory were diluted to a level that could occur at varying distances downwind of a confined animal feeding operation, both within and beyond the property line, and these emissions were delivered to an environmental exposure chamber. Headaches, eye irritation and nausea were reported. (Environmental Health Perspectives, May 2005.)

Trouble on the Farm: Growing Up with Pesticides in Agricultural Communities

This October 1998 NRDC report describes the disproportionate exposure to dangerous pesticides borne by children of farmers and farm workers. The report makes policy recommendations at the national and state level and suggests ways for farm owners and workers to reduce children’s exposure to pesticides.

Why Health is Key to the Future of Food and Farming

Examines the health and health inequality impact of current farming and food policy in England, and the externalized costs of current policies. England needs a modern, reformed Farming and Food Policy which takes full account of the health of the population and the government’s support for tackling health inequalities and the principles of sustainable development. (Chartered Institute of Environmental Health [UK], edited by Tim Lang and Geof Rayner.)

Pathogens and Foodborne Disease

Airborne Drug Resistant Bacteria in a Swine CAFO

Air pollutants emitted by concentrated swine feeding operations may serve as exposure pathways for the transfer of multi-drug resistant bacteria from swine to humans. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have detected bacteria resistant to at least two antibiotics important to treatment of human disease in air samples collected inside a large-scale swine operation in the Mid-Atlantic region. The greatest risk is to workers in such facilities, however, these individuals may also become reservoirs of drug-resistant bacteria, and spread the bacteria to the larger community. Environmental Health Perspectives.

CDC – Diseases from Farm Animals

Created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this website provides information about diseases that can be passed from farm animals to humans. The website includes links to detailed information about common diseases such as Campylobacter, E. coli, Salmonella, and others.

Consumer Reports: 71 Percent of Chicken Contains Harmful Bacteria

Findings and recommendations from a study of the rates of contamination of store-bought chicken. (Press Release, Consumers Union, February 1998.)

Four Pediatric Deaths from Community-Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an emerging community-acquired pathogen among patients without established risk factors for MRSA infection (e.g., recent hospitalization, recent surgery, residence in a long-term-care facility, or injecting-drug use). (US Centers for Disease Control, August 1999.)

Makin’ Bacon – Pork Production is Linked to the Risk of Flu Epidemics and Infections

Recent research indicates that the “other white meat” is a passageway for a number of serious illnesses, which can jump from animals to human hosts. And the intensive, factory farm conditions in which most pigs are raised increase the risk and act as an incubator for bacteria. (E magazine, May-June 2000.)

Pathogen Survival in Swine Manure Environments and Transmission of Human Enteric Illness: A Review

This study examines the influence of zoonoticpathogens in animal manure on human health and well-being as a direct or indirect cause of human enteric illness, focusing on the developing situation in western Canada. (Journal of Environmental Quality, May 2002.)

Tracking Manure-Borne Pathogens

Research has shown that use of manure as a natural fertilizer on pastures and fields is one way that microbial pathogens are spread in the environment. Scientists with the Agricultural Research Service are currently undertaking a study to find better ways for dairy and beef farmers to reduce pathogen levels. (Agricultural Research Magazine, November 1999.)