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Face masks protect hog farm workers from drug-resistant S. aureus
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Study findings published in Environmental Health Perspectives showed that consistently wearing face masks may protect hog farm workers and their household members against drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
For the study, Christopher D. Heaney, PhD, associate professor in the department of environmental health and engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and colleagues tracked 101 industrial hog operation workers and 79 of their household members over the course of 4 months to assess the association between industrial hog operation work and S. aureus carriage. Study participants completed questionnaires and provided nasal swabs every 2 weeks.
Heaney and colleagues noted that hogs in the United States are largely raised in close quarters on industrial farms and are routinely given antibiotics, which can select for antibiotic-resistant bacteria that circulate among the animals.
According to the study findings, face mask use by the hog farm workers reduced the likelihood of finding antibiotic-resistant, livestock-associated S. aureus strains in nasal swabs by 50% to 70%.
Masks also protected household members who consistently wore them, leading to an 80% to 90% reduction in the likelihood of finding livestock-derived S. aureus strains in their nasal swabs.
“Facemasks and other personal protective equipment could be effective in reducing occupational exposure to livestock-associated S. aureus and preventing the spread of these bacteria to workers and their families,” Heaney said in a news release.
The authors said more research is needed to study the efficacy of personal protective equipment to prevent occupational exposure to pathogens in hog farm workers.
“When workers are issued face masks, they may find it hard to breathe adequately while wearing the masks, especially when doing strenuous tasks in hot conditions. We need to come up with solutions to better protect workers.” – by Marley Ghizzone and Gerard Gallagher
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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