{"id":118557,"date":"2025-01-14T02:02:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-14T08:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=118557"},"modified":"2025-01-13T20:43:12","modified_gmt":"2025-01-14T02:43:12","slug":"unmc-research-assesses-viral-respiratory-risk-at-meatpacking-plants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/01\/14\/unmc-research-assesses-viral-respiratory-risk-at-meatpacking-plants\/","title":{"rendered":"UNMC research assesses viral respiratory risk at meatpacking plants"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A recent publication<\/a> by UNMC researchers assesses the transmission risk of respiratory diseases \u2013 such as COVID-19, influenza, and common colds \u2013 in meat processing facilities, using air sampling to identify markers of respiratory transmission in both production areas and common areas where workers are in close proximity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results, published in December, showed some surprises and offered a blueprint for how to handle future epidemics in a processing environment, according to co-principal investigators Joshua Santarpia, PhD, and Athena Ramos, PhD. In Dr. Santarpia\u2019s words, the results demonstrate \u201ca method for in situ <\/em>measurements of human-generated particles that can be used more broadly to understand exposure and risk in various occupied spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Measurements of human-generated aerosols, which were taken at three different plants, exploring all parts of the facility, including the harvesting area, the processing area and common areas such as bathrooms, locker rooms, cafeterias and offices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe believe this is the first time that measurements have been taken in a facility during regular occupied production hours,\u201d Dr. Ramos said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results showed that poorly ventilated common areas, not production areas, may pose the most risk of exposure to human-generated aerosols, including those that contain viruses. On average, three of four samples that tested positive for respiratory transmission markers were found in common areas at the facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the plants themselves, particularly in places like the packing floors, the level of ventilation for food safety was actually doing a good job of helping with prevention,\u201d Dr. Santarpia said. \u201cWhereas some of the areas that we perhaps didn’t initially consider as much, such as the cafeterias and the locker rooms, were where we saw a lot more potential for virus transmission.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team tracked a specific messenger RNA from a human respiratory protein, which brings versatility to the methodology, Dr. Santarpia explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy being able to do this in an occupied space, under normal operations, without impacting anything that’s going on, we can get a more real-world picture of what transmission risks look like, what exposures look like,\u201d he said. \u201cIt doesn’t have to be when there’s a disease circulating. We can go into any place, at any time, and get an understanding of where the hot spots are for transmission risk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study concluded that two controls should be prioritized to minimize the likelihood of exposure to potentially infectious aerosols:<\/p>\n\n\n\n