EVENT BRIEFS

12 October 2001

EVENT BRIEFS

&#8226 A GROUP of 606 farm workers and their families, called the PHLS Farm Cohort, are being screened for zoonotic diseases. According to Daniel Thomas of the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, Wales, the group acts as an indicator of emerging zoonoses which may also affect public health on farm visits.

&#8226 PREVENTING toxins from contaminating animal feed stored on farm is critical to ensure that meat reaching consumers is wholesome and safe, said BOCM Pauls pig development manager Brian Vernon.

"Feed bins must be thoroughly cleaned twice a year in March and October, when night and day temperatures are shifting, to prevent feed spoilage by bacteria, such as salmonella," he said.