Steer clear of flatbed chicken trucks

[Guest guest]

Germ alert: Steer clear of flatbed chicken trucks

By Mike Stobbe, Ap Medical Writer – Tue Nov 25, 5:30 pm ET

ATLANTA – You've heard about the chicken that crossed the road. But

have you heard the one about the chickens traveling down the road?

It's no laughing matter. Crates of chickens being trucked along the

highway in the back of an open truck can shoot a bunch of nasty

bacteria into the cars behind them, researchers have found.

Drivers stuck behind such a truck should " pass them quickly, " advised

study co-author Ana Rule, a researcher at s Hopkins University.

Even so, it's not clear that germy debris will make you sick. None of

the scientists who studied this problem got sick. And the

disease-causing bacteria in question are normally spread by food or

water, not air.

Rule and her colleagues at the Bloomberg School of Public Health

focused on the so-called Delmarva Peninsula, a coastal area that

includes parts of Delaware, land and Virginia. The region is a

chicken mecca, with one of the highest concentrations of broiler

chickens per acre in the nation.

The researchers chose a 17-mile stretch of highway connecting chicken

farms in land to a processing plant to the south in Accomac, Va.

They rode in four-door cars with all the windows down and the air

conditioning off.

They checked the cars for bacteria after driving when there were no

chicken trucks around. And they checked for bacteria after 10 trips

behind flatbed trucks carrying crates of broiler chickens.

They collected bacteria from air samples, door handles and soda cans

inside the car.

In all the truck chases, they found high levels of certain bacteria,

including some that are resistant to antibiotics.

The study, released this week, is being published in the first issue

of the Journal of Infection and Public Health, and it's billed as the

first to look at whether poultry trucking exposes people to

antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

It was a casual conversation that inspired the effort.

" Somebody said, 'I went to the beach the other day and I got stuck

behind a chicken truck, and boy, is that nasty,' " Rule said.

She said studies to determine if chicken trucks can make you sick are

somewhere down the road.

Dr. Klugman, an Emory University epidemiologist who was not

involved in the research, said getting sick that way is unlikely. Most

healthy people don't suffer serious illness from these bacteria even

when exposed in more conventional ways.

" It was kind of an unnatural experiment, in that people were driving

behind these trucks with the windows open and the air conditioning off

— for 17 miles, " he added. " If you were driving behind a truck that

was spewing stuff out the back of it, the first thing you would

probably do is close your windows. "

http://news./s/ap/20081125/ap_on_he_me/med_chicken_bacteria_2

[Guest guest]

Not to mention the distinctive Parfum de Chicken Coop which travels in the wake of these trucks.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Eleanor Roosevelt

From: <rumjal@...>Subject: [Flu] Steer clear of flatbed chicken trucksFlu Date: Thursday, November 27, 2008, 12:20 AM

Germ alert: Steer clear of flatbed chicken trucksBy Mike Stobbe, Ap Medical Writer – Tue Nov 25, 5:30 pm ETATLANTA – You've heard about the chicken that crossed the road. Buthave you heard the one about the chickens traveling down the road?It's no laughing matter. Crates of chickens being trucked along thehighway in the back of an open truck can shoot a bunch of nastybacteria into the cars behind them, researchers have found.Drivers stuck behind such a truck should "pass them quickly," advisedstudy co-author Ana Rule, a researcher at s Hopkins University.Even so, it's not clear that germy debris will make you sick. None ofthe scientists who studied this problem got sick. And thedisease-causing bacteria in question are normally spread by food orwater, not air.Rule and her colleagues at the Bloomberg School of Public Healthfocused on the so-called Delmarva Peninsula, a coastal

area thatincludes parts of Delaware, land and Virginia. The region is achicken mecca, with one of the highest concentrations of broilerchickens per acre in the nation.The researchers chose a 17-mile stretch of highway connecting chickenfarms in land to a processing plant to the south in Accomac, Va.They rode in four-door cars with all the windows down and the airconditioning off.They checked the cars for bacteria after driving when there were nochicken trucks around. And they checked for bacteria after 10 tripsbehind flatbed trucks carrying crates of broiler chickens.They collected bacteria from air samples, door handles and soda cansinside the car.In all the truck chases, they found high levels of certain bacteria,including some that are resistant to antibiotics.The study, released this week, is being published in the first issueof the Journal of Infection and

Public Health, and it's billed as thefirst to look at whether poultry trucking exposes people toantibiotic-resistan t bacteria.It was a casual conversation that inspired the effort."Somebody said, 'I went to the beach the other day and I got stuckbehind a chicken truck, and boy, is that nasty,'" Rule said.She said studies to determine if chicken trucks can make you sick aresomewhere down the road.Dr. Klugman, an Emory University epidemiologist who was notinvolved in the research, said getting sick that way is unlikely. Mosthealthy people don't suffer serious illness from these bacteria evenwhen exposed in more conventional ways."It was kind of an unnatural experiment, in that people were drivingbehind these trucks with the windows open and the air conditioning off— for 17 miles," he added. "If you were driving behind a truck thatwas spewing stuff out the back of it, the

first thing you wouldprobably do is close your windows."http://news. / s/ap/20081125/ ap_on_he_ me/med_chicken_ bacteria_ 2

[Guest guest]

Yes, and it seemed to me that the story was almost too obvious to post.

>

> Not to mention the distinctive Parfum de Chicken Coop which travels

in the wake of these trucks.

>

> Do one thing every day that scares you.

> Eleanor Roosevelt