Subject(s)
Animal Identification Systems/veterinary , Horse Diseases/transmission , Sentinel Surveillance/veterinary , Zoonoses , Animal Identification Systems/standards , Animal Welfare , Animals , Commerce , Health Status , Horse Diseases/epidemiology , Horse Diseases/prevention & control , Horses , Physical Examination/veterinarySubject(s)
Bird Diseases/epidemiology , Columbidae/microbiology , Parrots/microbiology , Psittacosis/veterinary , Animals , Bird Diseases/diagnosis , Bird Diseases/transmission , Birds , Chlamydophila psittaci/pathogenicity , Humans , Psittacosis/diagnosis , Psittacosis/epidemiology , Psittacosis/transmission , ZoonosesSubject(s)
Child Welfare , Disease Outbreaks/veterinary , Q Fever/transmission , Q Fever/veterinary , Zoonoses , Animals , Animals, Zoo , Child , Child, Preschool , Coxiella burnetii/isolation & purification , DNA, Bacterial/analysis , Humans , Netherlands/epidemiology , Q Fever/epidemiology , Q Fever/prevention & controlABSTRACT
In three successive years, we visited petting farms (n=132), care farms (n=91), and farmyard campsites (n=84), respectively, and completed a standard questionnaire with the objective of determining the hygienic status of these farms and describing hygiene measures implemented to reduce the risk of transmission of zoonotic agents from the animals to humans. For at least 85% of the farms, the overall impression of hygiene was recorded as good. However, more attention must be paid to: informing visitors on hygiene and handwashing, provision of handwashing facilities, and a footwear cleaning facility. Examination of samples of freshly voided faeces resulted in the detection of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157 and/or Salmonella spp. and/or Campylobacter spp. at almost two-thirds (64.9%) of the petting farms, and around half of the care farms (56.0%) and farmyard campsites (45.2%). These data reinforce the need for control measures for both public and private farms to reduce human exposure to livestock faeces and thus the risk of transmission of zoonotic diseases. Public awareness of the risk associated with handling animals or faecal material should be increased.
Subject(s)
Animal Husbandry , Animals, Domestic/microbiology , Disease Transmission, Infectious/prevention & control , Feces/microbiology , Hygiene , Zoonoses , Animals , Campylobacter/isolation & purification , Humans , Netherlands , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Salmonella/isolation & purification , Shiga-Toxigenic Escherichia coli/isolation & purification , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
In 2004 the Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (VWA) investigated the hygiene and hygiene facilities on 125 children's farms. In general, both the level of hygiene and the availability of hygiene facilities were good. A previous investigation, carried out in 2002, had highlighted a number of points for improvement, such as the need to improve hand-washing facilities. While the situation was better in 2004, it still did not meet the standard laid down by the VWA. The VWA aspires to achieve 100% implementation of the requirement that children's farms have a Code for Hygiene and an information board. Investigation of faecal samples collected in 2002 showed the presence of STEC O157 on 13 (10.2%) of the visited farms, Salmonella spp. on 19 (14.5%) and Campylobacter spp. on 74 (56.6%). These results show that there is a real risk of becoming infected with a zoonotic pathogen when visiting a children's farm. This emphasizes the importance of strict adherence to hygiene measures by workers and visitors on children's farms in The Netherlands.