These results may have important public health implications, since the general population is also exposed to these viruses. Elevated risks were observed for non-poultry-related occupational exposures such as working in a stockyard, working in a chemical plant, use of chemicals to kill moulds, and working in plants where plastic products were manufactured. These preliminary findings indicate that full scale epidemiological studies of adequate statistical power are needed to examine the role of occupational exposures in cancer occurrence in poultry workers.

The authors hypothesise that zoonotic transmissible agents present in food animals and their products may be responsible for the occurrence of some cases of circulatory, neurological and other diseases in meat workers, and possibly in the general population exposed to these agents.

Background:The tremendous size of the 2013-2016 West African outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) resulted in a sizeable population of survivors, many reporting short-term sequelae such as arthralgia and myalgia.Objectives:We aimed to report a detailed and long-term description of patients’ musculoskeletal (MS) symptoms.Methods:We performed a cross-sectional study following systematic rheumatological screening of patients included in the Postebogui cohort (Conakry district). We used regression models to establish the magnitude of EVD as a risk factor for developing chronic MS pain by comparison with a control cohort and to establish risk factors for developing MS pain among survivors.Results:The study included 313 patients (55.6% female), with a median age of 28.2 years (IQR 21-37), and a median time from ETC discharge to rheumatological visit of 26.2 months (IQR 23-30). Chronic MS pain was reported in 216 (69%) patients, and was predominantly mechanical (48%). Enthesis and painful peripheral joints were largely involved (91%) with symmetrical distribution. Previous Ebola infection was a major risk factor for chronic MS pain (aOR, 6.662 [95% CI, 4.522–9.921]). Among survivors, increasing age (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.08-1.22) and female gender (OR 3.58, 95% CI 1.22-11.80) were both associated with persistent MS pain, while myalgia experienced during the acute phase of EVD appeared protective (OR 0.14, 95% CI 0.04-0.42).Conclusion:Our study provides the most accurate long-term description of MS disorders among Ebola survivors. Joint and muscle pain sequelae are frequent and require specialized care.Disclosure of Interests:None declared