Effects of microbes in pig farms on occupational exposed persons and the environment

Abstract

In terms of pig farming, pig gut microbes have a significant effect on farmers and the farm environment. However, it is still unclear which microbial composition is more likely to contribute to this effect. This study collected a total of 136 samples, including pigs’ faeces samples, farmers’ faeces samples, samples from individuals who had no contact with any type of farm animal (referred to as ‘non-exposed’ persons), and environmental dust samples (collected from inside and outside pig houses and the farm) from two pig farms, pig farm A and pig farm B. Whereafter, 16S rRNA sequencing and taxonomic composition analysis were performed. According to the study, compared to non-exposed persons, pig farmers had a significantly higher abundance of 7 genera. In addition, the farmers were grouped according to the duration of their occupational exposure, and it was shown that 4 genera, including Turicibacter, Terrisporobacter, and Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, exhibited a rise in more frequent contact with pigs. As compared to outside the pig house, the environmental dust has a greater concentration of the 3 bacteria mentioned before. Therefore, these 3 microbes can be considered as co-occurring microbes that may exist both in humans and the environment. Also, the 3 co-occurring microbes are involved in the fermentation and production of short-chain fatty acids and their effectiveness decreased as distance from the farm increased. This study shows that the 3 microbes where pig farmers co-occur with the environment come from pig farms, which provides fresh ideas for preventing the spread of microbial aerosols in pig farms and reducing pollution.