Measures for Bioaerosol Reduction in the Salmon Industry

Launched by UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL OF NORTH NORWAY · Sep 6, 2021

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

The intervention trial is part of a broader study on assessment of exposure and health of workers in the salmon industry. Measurements of exposure, health examinations and questionnaire data serve as a basis for both intervention- and other substudies.

The intervention trial itself is a parallel group, three-arm non-randomized superiority trial with a 1:1:1 allocation.

Processing of salmon includes two main processes: 1) in the slaughtering department, the fish are slaughtered, sorted, automatically or manually gutted, and washed before further processing; and 2) in the filleting departme...

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Eligibility criteria will differ depending on the type of data gathering volunteers participate in:
• • 1. Questionnaire Inclusion Criteria: All workers employed in the factory Exclusion Criteria: No restrictions
• • 2. Exposure assessment study
• Inclusion Criteria: Participants (12 workers each day, two repeated measurements = 24 workers) will be collected at random among workers having the following work stations/tasks during the study period:
• • Monday and Thursday (n=12 workers): Slaughtering department (n=5), filleting department (n=4) and other (n=3).
• • Tuesday and Wednesday (n=12 workers): Slaughtering department (n=3), filleting department (n=3), packing department (n=2), laboratory/technical department (n=2) and central control room/administration (n=2).
• • Exclusion Criteria: Not working in those areas, not able to wear backpack with equipment.
• • 3. Cross-week follow-up (Monday to Thursday) Inclusion Criteria: Participant in both 1 and 2, i.e. having filled out questionnaire and participated in exposure measurement on mondays.
• • Exclusion Criteria: Not fulfilling inclusion criteria, not able to wear backpack with equipment.
• • 4. Health examinations Inclusion criteria: All subjects working in the factories during the field work period of four days will be eligible. However, due to logistic constraints we aim to invite at least 20 subjects each day, primarily those working in the salmon production line. Those invited will be randomly selected according to a distribution between slaughtering, filleting and others (ratio 5:4:3).
• Exclusion criteria:
• • For spirometry measurements: heart attack, operation on eyes, stomach or in the chest region in the course of the last three months, ongoing treatment for tuberculosis or other respiratory infection, pregnancy
• • For skin prick tests: pregnancy