Mraz Alexis L, Mutyala Nandini, Cleary Seana, Seals Brenda F
The Department of Public Health, School of Nursing and Health Sciences, The College of New Jersey, Ewing Township, NJ 08618, USA.
The Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Microorganisms. 2023 Sep 27;11(10):2413. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms11102413.
Cows are known carriers of (), a protozoa that can cause the gastrointestinal illness cryptosporidiosis in humans. Despite this potential exposure, dairy farmers tend to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect the milk from contamination, rather than to protect themselves from zoonotic diseases, such as cryptosporidiosis. In this study, cow feces were collected from individual cattle on dairy farms and analyzed for using qPCR. Quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) was used to determine the risk of cryptosporidiosis to the dairy farmer with and without the use of handwashing and PPE (gloves and masks). The annualized risk of cryptosporidiosis to dairy farmers was 29.08% but was reduced significantly in each of the three interventions. Among the individual interventions, glove use provided the greatest reduction in risk, bringing the annual risk of cryptosporidiosis to 4.82%. Implementing regular handwashing, the use of gloves and a mask brought the annual risk of cryptosporidiosis to 1.29%. This study provides evidence that handwashing and PPE use can significantly reduce the risk of cryptosporidiosis to farmers and is worth implementing despite potential barriers such as discomfort and cost.
奶牛是（隐孢子虫）的已知携带者，隐孢子虫是一种原生动物，可导致人类患胃肠疾病隐孢子虫病。尽管存在这种潜在暴露风险，但奶农倾向于穿戴个人防护装备（PPE）来保护牛奶不受污染，而不是保护自己免受人畜共患病，如隐孢子虫病的侵害。在本研究中，从奶牛场的个体奶牛采集粪便，并使用qPCR分析隐孢子虫。采用定量微生物风险评估（QMRA）来确定奶农在使用和不使用洗手及个人防护装备（手套和口罩）的情况下感染隐孢子虫病的风险。奶农感染隐孢子虫病的年化风险为29.08%，但在三种干预措施中的每一种中风险都显著降低。在个体干预措施中，使用手套降低的风险最大，将隐孢子虫病的年度风险降至4.82%。实施定期洗手、使用手套和口罩将隐孢子虫病的年度风险降至1.29%。本研究提供了证据，表明洗手和使用个人防护装备可显著降低奶农感染隐孢子虫病的风险，尽管存在诸如不适和成本等潜在障碍，但仍值得实施。
