Rank: Forum user 
|
Hi I work in the meat industry with cutting animal and preparing them for sale. Contact with blood urine etc. Having read up on the risk I was thinking of preparing a med warding card and issuing this to workers in case they develop symptoms which could be a disease or virus. There is a risk although low they could develop symptoms which may show as flu but be something sinister like Salmonella or Campylobacter or even worse etc. A doctor might not due a test which could confirm the virus etc. Do you think this is a stupid idea? Whould I be creating panic at the hospital/ doctors if it has Anthrax on the card as an example?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Super forum user 
|
Is anthrax a real likelihood? The card idea seems reasonable as many talking to doctors may forget to mention their employment, and since we rarely see the traditional family doctor any more the practitioner may fail to draw reasonable links. But do keep it in perspective e.g. will you also list bovine TB?
|
 2 users thanked Roundtuit for this useful post.
|
|
|
|
Rank: Super forum user
|
Is anthrax a real likelihood? The card idea seems reasonable as many talking to doctors may forget to mention their employment, and since we rarely see the traditional family doctor any more the practitioner may fail to draw reasonable links. But do keep it in perspective e.g. will you also list bovine TB?
|
2 users thanked Roundtuit for this useful post.
|
|
|
|
Rank: Super forum user
|
All animals that go for slaughter are supposed to be checked by a State vet employed by the Meat Hygiene Service. I believe that in practice this does not happen as there is shortage of such qualified people and it is likely to get worse since most of the State Vets I know are from Eastern Europe and most seem to be thinking about going back home. If you want to look at the risks posed by zoonoses during slaughter you should check the HSE website and the Meat industry website. You do not need to list every possible pathogen, since the controls would be the same for most possible bioagents. Anthrax should not be an issue in the UK. It is illegal (under current EU rules) to import meat from any country where anthrax is endemic. Similarly TB is not a serious issue-see this Research commissioned by the HSE about the risk from bovine TB https://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/gmo/acdp-m-bovis-working-group.pdf There are issues with handling meat safely and it can be assumed that raw meat has some form of surface contamination eg Campylobacter in chicken but the route of entry is almost always by ingestion. I e poor hygiene, not washing hands and handling food. Limited evidence for inhalation risk unless you are doing things like using power saws to cut up bones etc. Cuts should be covered up and gloves worn.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Forum user 
|
In the railway industry we carry cards stating we work near water so could have contracted Weil's disease/Leptospirosis. For us this is a practical measure as these days, most people will only get a 5min appointment at their Health centre, who invariably are under resourced assume you have flu and prescribe paracetamol or suchlike. Obviously we brief out to our workers to A carry the card & B present it the doctor/nurse if they attend the Health centre.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Super forum user
|
Originally Posted by: Roundtuit  Is anthrax a real likelihood? The card idea seems reasonable as many talking to doctors may forget to mention their employment, and since we rarely see the traditional family doctor any more the practitioner may fail to draw reasonable links. But do keep it in perspective e.g. will you also list bovine TB?
I can safely say you don't want the anthrax innoculation. Comes in 2 parts. It's a live vaccine IIRC. It numbs your arm for 24hrs each time and I had a hard lump the size of a chicken egg in my arm at point of injection. Felt really pants for a day or 2 as well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Super forum user
|
A GP should (I hope) be aware of the sort of health issues that someone working with meat might come across. They should be asking where a person works as part of their investigation. Suspected food poisoning is a notifiable disease as is typhoid fever (eg Salmonella Typhi) There should be no need to list every possible infectious agent that they may come across. Adding Anthrax etc just scares people.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Super forum user
|
The card information is a good idea...but beware where you get the information from...generally I will check if that detail is present in information from the attending staff...but I will only take as gospel what is clinically recognised as source information.... You will need to make sure you get HR etc to sign off on this before you send it out as you are more likely to set some hares running with your staff...
|
|
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum.
You cannot reply to topics in this forum.
You cannot delete your posts in this forum.
You cannot edit your posts in this forum.
You cannot create polls in this forum.
You cannot vote in polls in this forum.