Study Examines Autoimmune Illnesses Linked to Pork Processing Plants
A recent study has reportedly confirmed that 21 meatpackers working at a Quality Pork Processors, Inc., facility contracted a neurological disorder after inhaling aerosolized pig proteins. Daniel H. Lachance, et al., “An outbreak of neurological autoimmunity with polyradiculoneuropathy in workers exposed to aerosolised porcine neural tissue: a descriptive study,” The Lancet Neurology, November 30, 2009. Researchers identified the proteins as the trigger for an autoimmune response involving debilitating pain, weakness and numbness in extremities. The authors also examined blood samples from 100 asymptomatic workers, finding that one-third had the same antibody response as those reporting neurological ailments. “The pattern of nerve involvement suggests vulnerability of nerve roots and terminals where the blood-nerve barrier is most permeable,” stated the study abstract, which did not offer an explanation for why some workers became ill while others appeared healthy.
The study noted that subjects with the strongest antibody response were closest in proximity to a work station where a high-pressure hose separated pig brains from the skull. In particular, the workers told investigators that their symptoms began after the facility sped up production line operations. “[It] sounds as if as the line speed increased, the operator was not able to handle the process properly and as a consequence the material was being directed in all directions,” the lead author was quoted as saying. See StarTribune.com, November 29, 2009; The Associated Press, December 1, 2009.
