Fungi in aerosols of hay associated with respiratory distress in dairy cattle

Details

• Personal Author:
  May JJ ; Olenchock, Stephen A. ; Pratt DS ; Siegel, Paul D. ; Sorenson WG
• Description:
  Analyses were conducted on three hay samples taken from a barn in which both the farmer and the dairy cows demonstrated symptoms associated with dust from use of a bedding chopper. Hay extracts were examined for bacteria and fungi and respirable dust clouds were generated from the samples to study airborne contaminants. Sample 1 consisted of hay and hay chaff which was the accumulation of about 5 years between the floor of the mow and the ceiling of the milking floor of the barn. Sample 2 was newly purchased from a local source. Sample 3 was 1 year old and probably had gotten wet during storage. Total bacteria in samples 1, 2, and 3 were 1.2x10(4), 1.7x10(3), and 2.3x10(5) colony forming units/milligram of dust (CFU/mg), respectively. Gram negative bacteria were determined in Sample 3 to be 4.5x10(6)CFU/mg. Mesophilic fungi in order of Samples 1, 2, and 3 were determined to be present at 1.2x10(4), 8.5x10(4), and 1.1x10(6)CFU/mg. Xerophilic fungi correspondingly were 1.0x10(4), 7.2x10(4), and 1.1x10(6)CFU/mg. Thermotolerant fungi were present at 2.9x10(2), 9.2x10(1), and 8.09x10(2)CFU/mg, respectively. Sera from eight of ten sick cows and two healthy cows from the same barn and six cows from other farms produced precipitin bands on counter immunoelectrophoretic analysis with Sample 3. The authors conclude that dusts generated from hay samples associated with an outbreak of respiratory illness in cows contained high levels of fungi and bacteria. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Air Pollutants, Occupational Animal Husbandry Animals Dust Farmers Microbiology Occupational Health Particulate Matter Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety

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• Keywords:
  Agricultural-workers Airborne-dusts Animal-husbandry Animal-studies Dust-exposure Microorganisms NIOSH-Author Organic-dusts Respiratory-system-disorders
• ISSN:
  0964-8305
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  353-362
• Volume:
  30
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00232390
• Citation:
  Int Biodeterior Biodegradation 992 Oct-Dec; 30(4):353-362
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1993
• NORA Priority Area:
  Pulmonary System Disorders
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6ec24a1b7ba1decd44286121107e064b2aafb3788a75233830f47b5771683bb8c088bf04081b5589e785ca379c16d2560a0623deb513cd09ac0fcc4a3dd91730
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/204801/cdc_204801_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 517.50 KB ]