Occupations at risk of contracting zoonoses of public health significance in Québec

Abstract

Introduction: Climate change plays an important role in the geographic spread of zoonotic diseases. Knowing which populations are at risk of contracting these diseases is critical to informing public health policies and practices. In Québec, 14 zoonoses have been identified as important for public health to guide the climate change adaptation efforts of decision-makers and researchers. A great deal has been learned about these diseases in recent years, but information on at-risk workplaces remains incomplete. The objective of this study is to paint a portrait of the occupations and sectors of economic activity at risk for the acquisition of these zoonoses. Methods: A rapid review of the scientific literature was conducted. Databases on the Ovid and EBSCO research platforms were searched for articles published between 1995 and 2018, in English and French, on 14 zoonoses (campylobacteriosis, cryptosporidiosis, verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli, giardiasis, listeriosis, salmonellosis, Eastern equine encephalitis, Lyme disease, West Nile virus, food botulism, Q fever, avian and swine influenza, rabies, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome) and occupational health. The literature search retrieved 12,558 articles and, after elimination of duplicates, 6,838 articles were evaluated based on the title and the abstract. Eligible articles had to address both concepts of the research issue (prioritized zoonoses and worker health). Of the 621 articles deemed eligible, 110 were selected following their full reading. Results: Of the diseases under study, enteric zoonoses were the most frequently reported. Agriculture, including veterinary services, public administration services and medical and social services were the sectors most frequently identified in the literature. Conclusion: The results of our study will support public health authorities and decision-makers in targeting those sectors and occupations that are particularly at risk for the acquisition of zoonoses. Doing so will ultimately optimize the public health practices of those responsible for the health of workers.

Occupational Lyme Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…A review of zoonoses in forestry workers [ 28 ] collected 22 studies published between 1995 and 2010, confirming not only the over-representation of positive seroprevalences for BB in forestry workers, but also the perplexities due to non-standardized methodologies, differences in the sample sizes of the populations studied, and the lack of control populations. A recent scoping review on zoonosis [ 31 ] cited 7 LD studies on forestry, farm workers and the military. In addition to supplementing these reviews with more recent studies, we aimed to assess the magnitude of the risk by conducting a meta-analysis.…”

“…Forestry workers, who carry out their activity in areas of wild vegetation, may be at a high risk of LD [ 28 ]. Other categories at risk for LD include outdoor workers employed in uncultivated areas, military personnel based in endemic areas or working in wooded areas, and veterinarians who have had contact with tick-bearing animals [ 29 , 30 , 31 ].…”

Updated assessment of occupational safety and health hazards of climate change

“…The potential impact of climate change on vector-borne diseases continues to be a well-researched topic, although the available literature on specific workers or occupations remains limited ( Beard et al 2016 ; Ogden 2017 ; Levi et al 2018 ; Caminade et al 2019 ; Fouque and Reeder 2019 ; Adam-Poupart et al 2021 ). Climate factors such as temperature extremes and precipitation patterns affect the seasonality and distribution of vector-borne diseases ( Ogden and Lindsay 2016 ; Caminade et al 2019 ; Fouque and Reeder 2019 ).…”

Targeted Tick-Borne Disease Recognition: Assessing Risk for Improved Public Health

“…Occupations involving outdoor work have consistently shown a higher susceptibility to TBDs in various studies [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. Among these, agricultural workers have been identified as a group that is particularly vulnerable to TBDs [13,17,19,22,23].…”

“…Occupations involving outdoor work have consistently shown a higher susceptibility to TBDs in various studies [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. Among these, agricultural workers have been identified as a group that is particularly vulnerable to TBDs [13,17,19,22,23]. Similarly, forestry workers also exhibit a significantly elevated risk of TBDs [13,[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23], and occupational cavers are not exempt from this heightened risk [24].…”