Cows as canaries: The effects of ambient air pollution exposure on milk production and somatic cell count in dairy cows

Beaupied, Bonni L.; Martínez, H. S.; Martenies, Sheena E.; McConnel, Craig S.; Pollack, I. B.; Giardina, Dylan; Fischer, Emily V.; Jathar, Shantanu H.; Duncan, Colleen; Magzamen, Sheryl

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2021.112197

Cited by 10 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 69 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In summer 2020, when this study was conducted, an increase in PM 2.5 from active wildfires occurred for 7 consecutive days, where daily PM 2.5 was greater than 100 µg/m 3 . Thus, cattle had a reduced milk yield for at least 14 d. A recent study also found that PM 2.5 from ambient sources and from wildfires decreases milk yield, but duration of milk loss related to PM 2.5 was not assessed (Beaupied et al, 2022). In that same study, milk SCC increased with greater PM 2.5 ; however, we did not find an association between SCC and wildfire PM 2.5 .…”

Section: Milk Production and Metabolismcontrasting

confidence: 79%

Effects of wildfire smoke exposure on innate immunity, metabolism, and milk production in lactating dairy cows

Anderson

Rezamand

Skibiel

2022

Journal of Dairy Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Wildfires are particularly prevalent in the Western United States, home to more than 2 million dairy cows that produce more than 25% of the nation's milk. Wildfires emit fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) in smoke, which is a known air toxin and is thought to contribute to morbidity in humans by inducing inflammation. The physiological responses of dairy cows to wildfire PM 2.5 are unknown. Herein we assessed the immune, metabolic, and production responses of lactating Holstein cows to wildfire PM 2.5 inhalation. Cows (primiparous, n = 7; multiparous, n = 6) were monitored across the wildfire season from July to September 2020. Cows were housed in freestall pens and thus were exposed to ambient air quality. Air temperature, relative humidity, and PM 2.5 were obtained from a monitoring station 5.7 km from the farm. Animals were considered to be exposed to wildfire PM 2.5 if daily average PM 2.5 exceeded 35 µg/m 3 and wildfire and wind trajectory mapping showed that the PM 2.5 derived from active wildfires. Based on these conditions, cows were exposed to wildfire PM 2.5 for 7 consecutive days in mid-September. Milk yield was recorded daily and milk components analysis conducted before, during, and after exposure. Blood was taken from the jugular vein before, during, and after exposure and assayed for hematology, blood chemistry, and blood metabolites. Statistical analysis was conducted using mixed models including PM 2.5 , temperature-humidity index (THI), parity (primiparous or multiparous), and their interactions as fixed effects and cow as a random effect. Separate models included lags up to 7 d to identify delayed and persistent effects from wildfire PM 2.5 exposure. Exposure to elevated PM 2.5 from wildfire smoke resulted in lower milk yield during exposure and for 7 d after last exposure and higher blood CO 2 concentration, which persisted for 1 d following exposure. We observed a positive PM 2.5 by THI interaction for eosinophil and basophil count and a negative PM 2.5 by THI interaction for red blood cell count and hemoglobin concentration after a 3-d lag.Neutrophil count was also lower with a combination of higher THI and PM 2.5 . We found no discernable effect of PM 2.5 on haptoglobin concentration. Effects of PM 2.5 and THI on metabolism were contingent on day of exposure. On lag d 0, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) was reduced with higher combined THI and PM 2.5 , but on subsequent lag days, THI and PM 2.5 had a positive interaction on BUN. Conversely, THI and PM 2.5 had a positive interacting effect on nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) on lag d 0 but subsequently caused a reduction in circulating NEFA concentration. Our results suggest that exposure to high wildfire-derived PM 2.5 , alone or in concert with elevated THI, alters systemic metabolism, milk production, and the innate immune system.

show abstract

Section: Milk Production and Metabolismcontrasting

confidence: 79%

Effects of wildfire smoke exposure on innate immunity, metabolism, and milk production in lactating dairy cows

Anderson

Rezamand

Skibiel

2022

Journal of Dairy Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Yet, most of the U.S. land area is not urban and approximately half is agricultural . Air quality studies related to health and environmental justice typically focus on urban and suburban areas. − Rural PM 2.5 is toxic and impacts human and livestock health . Neglect of agricultural regions in air quality analyses may be inconsistent with national goals for environmental equity .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Data Gap: Air Quality Networks Miss Air Pollution from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations

Burns,

Chandler,

Dunham

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the U.S., the agricultural sector is the largest controllable source of several air pollutants, including ammonia (NH 3 ), which is a key precursor to PM 2.5 formation. Livestock waste is the dominant contributor to ammonia emissions. In contrast to most controllable air pollutants, satellite records show ammonia mixing ratios are rising. The number of confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) that generate considerable livestock waste is also increasing. Spatial and temporal trends in USDA-reported animal numbers normalized by county area at medium and large CAFOs provide plausible explanations for patterns in satellite-derived NH 3 over the contiguous U.S. (CONUS). The correlation between summertime ammonia derived from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) and CAFO animal unit density in 2017 is positive and significant ( r = 0.642; p ≈ 0). The temporal changes from 2002 to 2017 in animal unit density and NH 3 derived from NASA’s Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) are spatially similar. Trends and ambient concentrations of PM 2.5 mass in agricultural regions are difficult to assess relative to those of urban population centers given the sparseness of rural monitors in regulatory surface networks. Results suggest that in agricultural areas where ammonia concentrations and animal density are highest, air quality improvement lags behind the national average.

show abstract

“…Additionally, studies that had no direct connection to human health, assessed animal populations or human tissue samples, or focused solely on occupational or non‐wildfire related exposures were excluded. However, after completing the initial review, 14 articles (Beaupied et al., 2022 ; Black et al., 2017 ; Buchholz et al., 2022 ; Delfino et al., 2002 , 2010 ; Ghetu et al., 2022 ; Huttunen et al., 2012 ; Liang et al., 2021 ; Messier et al., 2019 ; Nguyen et al., 2021 ; O’Hara et al., 2021 ; Ré et al., 2021 ; Solomon et al., 2021 ; Wan et al., 2021 ) within these categories were included to capture the use of novel data sources or for potential relevance to human health outcomes. Information from full text articles was organized in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Quantitative estimates relied on aerosol optical depth, the amount of Cleland et al, 2021;Delfino et al, 2009;Elliott et al, 2013;Gan et al, 2017;Landguth et al, 2020;O'Neill et al, 2021). Qualitative estimates were obtained using NOAA HMS smoke polygons, where trained analysts drew polygons around spatial regions with visible smoke Aguilera, Corringham, Gershunov, Leibel, & Benmarhnia, 2021;Aguilera et al, 2020;Beaupied et al, 2022;Burke et al, 2022;Casey et al, 2021;S. E. Cleland et al, 2022;Fann et al, 2018;Gan et al, 2017;Heft-Neal et al, 2022;Messier et al, 2019;Rappold et al, 2019;Schwarz et al, 2022;Sorensen et al, 2021;Zhou et al, 2021).…”

Section: Satellite Remote Sensing Data Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…C. Liu, Wilson, Mickley, Dominici, et al, 2017;Naqvi et al, 2022;O'Neill et al, 2021;Postma et al, 2022;Rappold et al, 2019;Sorensen et al, 2021;Zhou et al, 2021). Most studies included PM 2.5 as the main exposure metric, but five studies utilized the air quality index and O 3 data from these EPA data sources (Ademu et al, 2022;Beaupied et al, 2022;Dohrenwend et al, 2013;Rappold et al, 2019;Sorensen et al, 2021). Researchers also used data from state monitors like the California Air Resources Board (Black et al, 2017) and Washington's Air Monitoring Network (Y.…”

Section: Air Quality Monitoring Data Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Data Linkages for Wildfire Exposures and Human Health Studies: A Scoping Review

Barkoski,

Van Fleet,

Liu

et al. 2024

GeoHealth

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Wildfires are increasing in frequency and intensity, with significant consequences that impact human health. A scoping review was conducted to: (a) understand wildfire‐related health effects, (b) identify and describe environmental exposure and health outcome data sources used to research the impacts of wildfire exposures on health, and (c) identify gaps and opportunities to leverage exposure and health data to advance research. A literature search was conducted in PubMed and a sample of 83 articles met inclusion criteria. A majority of studies focused on respiratory and cardiovascular outcomes. Hospital administrative data was the most common health data source, followed by government data sources and health surveys. Wildfire smoke, specifically fine particulate matter (PM2.5), was the most common exposure measure and was predominantly estimated from monitoring networks and satellite data. Health data were not available in real‐time, and they lacked spatial and temporal coverage to study health outcomes with longer latency periods. Exposure data were often available in real‐time and provided better temporal and spatial coverage but did not capture the complex mixture of hazardous wildfire smoke pollutants nor exposures associated with non‐air pathways such as soil, household dust, food, and water. This scoping review of the specific health and exposure data sources used to underpin these studies provides a framework for the research community to understand: (a) the use and value of various environmental and health data sources, and (b) the opportunities for improving data collection, integration, and accessibility to help inform our understanding of wildfires and other environmental exposures.

show abstract

Cows as canaries: The effects of ambient air pollution exposure on milk production and somatic cell count in dairy cows

Cited by 10 publications

References 69 publications

Effects of wildfire smoke exposure on innate immunity, metabolism, and milk production in lactating dairy cows

Effects of wildfire smoke exposure on innate immunity, metabolism, and milk production in lactating dairy cows

Data Gap: Air Quality Networks Miss Air Pollution from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations

Data Linkages for Wildfire Exposures and Human Health Studies: A Scoping Review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About