650 Workers At German Abatoir Test Positive

Other countries have also recorded outbreaks in abattoirs, including in France and the US, where workers in at least two food plants have died amid outbreaks.w.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-53087139" target="_blank" class="postlink">BBC link

This is not the first time a meat processing plant has found itself at the centre of a coronavirus outbreak.

Some of the biggest outbreaks of Covid-19 worldwide have been in meat processing factories and slaughterhouses.

In Ireland for example, a special national outbreak team has been put in place to deal with the large number of clusters at meat plants.

There are various theories about why meat plants are particularly susceptible.
There are various theories about why meat plants are particularly susceptible.

But a combination staff working in close proximity, doing very physical work, indoors in a cold environment where the virus is known to thrive are likely to be contributory factors.

BBC link

Why does coronavirus hit so many meat processing plants?

Analysis by David Shukman, science editor

Anywhere cold, damp and indoors is an ideal environment for the coronavirus to thrive.

It survives best on cool surfaces, especially if there's no dry breeze to get rid of the moisture or any ultraviolet light from the sun to kill it off.

Add to that the challenges of social distancing on a busy production line, together with loud machinery forcing staff to raise their voices.

Researchers know that situations where people sing - or have to shout - increases the chances of them projecting the virus to others nearby.

According to Prof Calum Semple, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Liverpool and an adviser to the government, meat processing plants can be "a perfect environment for the virus to persist on surfaces and in the air".

Earlier, it emerged workers at two food processing plants in Wales had tested positive for coronavirus.

Yes it's anothercoronavirus update . If you're not interested in this , there's the door .

Why meatpackers and abatoirs ?

Because coro navirus is zoonotic .

A zoonotic pathogen is one can infect and reproduce and then further transmit from within several different animal hosts . Bats for one . Humans for another , rabbits dogs cats cows mice . Even snakes and birds , like chickens and ducks and maybe pigeons.

And it's looking like the animal populations are having corona infect them , and then when they are processed , humans doing the work are catching the disease and getting sick .

Corona navirus is pnumoenteric, meaning that it not only infects the lungs but the guts too.

Abatoirs necessarily deal with animal guts and blood as do meat packers consequentially.
Interestly we re not told these facts about the pandemic , but the cited quote mentions that coronavirus " thrives " in cold low light conditions , like those in abbatoirs , and winter time .

The common cold is a coronavirus , traditionally a mild winter affliction . But what it's not is a zoonotic pandemic .

Sarscoronavirus 2 is a zoonotic pandemic pathogen.

That makes it quite a serious customer , despite the naysayers , that never give up with their ' personal 'opinions and don't cite facts with references , or follow up their often sweeping statements with the word ' because ' and something called ' reasoning' . It's expected that ppl are idiots , it's just there's a whole herd of them around these here parts .

Yet the public is offered only 'several theories " about why it hits workers all at once at meatpacker after meatpacker after meatpacker and abbatoir after abbatoir in multiple countries .

a reply to: DoctorBluechip

And everyone else chomped up the meat they processed.

Everyone’s had Covid dude.

P.S. The German meat consumers said Covid tastes delicious. Particularly in the schnitzel!

I wonder why chicken here is selling so cheap lately. I think the farmers are unloading the flock due to the bird flu in China.

a reply to: DoctorBluechip

You have piqued my interest, having seen other threads (and added to one myself) where you are dismissed and put down. This one has got me...

Just to clarify, do you think this report of meat workers getting ill is because the animals had it before they were processed for meat?

If so that is huge is it not?

I believe you have stumbled upon one of the most nefarious plots enacted by peta the world has ever known.

who cares?

the testing tests you for EVERY type of covidvirus, including past viruses. im pretty sure we would all test positive, because im pretty sure most of us have gotten colds.

the trick is not letting this go to pneumonia.

a reply to: Neal13

Yes and you're right it's a massive issue to the extent you've got public health agencies issuing straight lies about all these many meatpacker and abbatoir outbreaks through news agencies .
They know it full well that commonly herded and flocked farm animals plus certain domestic pets and wild animals are all susceptible and can also act as transmission vectors between species , but , so do we .

a reply to: DoctorBluechip

It seems so obvious.
I know nothing about it however so there could be other factors which make more sense.

But if you're correct what can we do?

I don't think an announcement stating we're all f****d will help so may as well keep quiet.

DDDOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM!

Oh wait...

Five to one, baby
One in five
No one here gets out alive, now
You get yours, baby
I'll get mine
Gonna make it, baby
If we try

www.azlyrics.com...

Sorry old bean, we all pay the ultimate price sometime.

Seen some info that US meat packing plants though catching hell in number of infections are doing much better than the state baseline in serious outcomes. That's a head scratcher. Particularly since those places have a high proportion of Hispanic and Black employees, who seem to be more susceptible to serious outcomes in the total population.

a reply to: DoctorBluechip

This whole thing is such a brain blaster ! How do you know what to believe ?

My gut tells me this virus is more propaganda than anything else but... I feel like Mulder “I want to believe” it would almost be easier to know it is real and dangerous. But I’m just not convinced. I’m currently in self isolation from the advice of my doctor as my daughter is ill. I live in a flat and have 2 cats, one of which regularly goes round my neighbours. Do I isolate my cat? It is mental ! My neighbours have asked me what to do, I don’t know and have told them it is up to them to decide and yet they still leave their door open for my cat to visit .

a reply to: DoctorBluechip

I've mentioned this YouTube channel on the boards before, but I've been following this guys channel for updates on this kind of thing, his channel is called The Ice Age Farmer.

He talks a lot about the recent closure of food processing and packing plants, and throws a bit of conspiracy theory in the mix.

Here's one of his recent videos,



Here's some articles that make one go 'hmmmmm?',.........

'UN urges global move to meat and dairy-free diet' (2010)

A global shift towards a vegan diet is vital to save the world from hunger, fuel poverty and the worst impacts of climate change, a UN report said today.

As the global population surges towards a predicted 9.1 billion people by 2050, western tastes for diets rich in meat and dairy products are unsustainable, says the report from United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) international panel of sustainable resource management.

The Guardian

'The UN says we need to reduce our meat consumption to fight climate change and improve food security' (2019)

Global meat consumption must fall to curb global warming, reduce growing strains on land and water and improve food security, health and biodiversity, a United Nations report on the effects of climate change concluded.

Although the report stopped short of explicitly advocating going meat free, it called for big changes to farming and eating habits to limit the impact of population growth and changing consumption patterns on stretched land and water resources.

World Economic Forum

'Meat’s planetary footprint finally on the agenda at UN Climate Talks' (2019)

...Recent research firmly shows that adaption around both production and consumption of meat and dairy products can significantly move the needle on emission of pollutants, and that transition of diets to less meat-based and more plant-based products is essential to tackling climate change.

FAIRR

'Bill Gates and Richard Branson are betting lab-grown meat might be the food of the future' (2018)

Vegetarians have long touted the ethical and environmental problems with meat production and consumption. Start-ups such as MosaMeat, JUST and Memphis Meats are tissue-engineering meat in a lab to allow people to enjoy being a carnivore without any of the environmental or ethical hang-ups.

Dubbed clean meat, the efforts are distinct from "fake meat," like the soy protein "chicken" you can find in your grocery store today. Unlike Morningstar or Boca Burgers, clean meat really is meat; it just grows in a lab instead of being part of an animal.

CNBC

'Lab-Grown Meat Is Coming to Your Plate' (2020)

Memphis Meats will soon start construction on a pilot facility that will scale up production.

...Memphis recently announced the end of its latest round of funding, which brought in a whopping $161 million in new investment, with contributions from Bill Gates, Richard Branson and Kimbal Musk, as well as conventional meat producers Cargill and Tyson Foods.

TreeHugger



It all seems a bit 'ATS'y',.....

I wonder if the emplyees at the meat packing plants all had the same flu shot. A lot of companies have people come to the vacility to administer flu shots to workers. So I can see everyone getting the same flu shots with the same strains.

Also, what do they do with the flu shots with these strains they don't administer to workers? Do the millions of unused vials not given to people get destroyed or are they resold to farmers to administer to their livestock even before they get to the meat processing plants?

So is this the new "rub" or scare-du jour? We need to panic about our food supply now?

originally posted by: dantanna
who cares?

the testing tests you for EVERY type of covidvirus, including past viruses. im pretty sure we would all test positive, because im pretty sure most of us have gotten colds.

the trick is not letting this go to pneumonia.

Testing is showing a 5-8% positive rate so it is pretty clear your conclusion is very errant.

originally posted by: TXRabbit
So is this the new "rub" or scare-du jour? We need to panic about our food supply now?

If you have some spare time, give this a whirl, just under an hour long,

The closing of meat processing and packing plants, and the supply chain disruptions, are just the tip of the iceberg,



No need to panic, just yet, but if you have family that you provide for, it might be a good idea to have some foresight into what could and has happened before now,

All the best,

a reply to: MerkabaTribeEntity

Thank you for the link. I'll check it out later today

So I buy 1/2 cow from a rancher that raises grass fed Black Angus, The cow goes to a family run small slaughter house and the meat then goes to the butcher and hangs for 3 weeks. The butcher who works solo for like 40 years calls me up and asks me what custom cuts do I want and we go down the list. I just bought one and it came out to 400 pound of beef at 3.20 a pound. I think I'm good for a while...


In the states they have determined that much of the spread in slaughter houses etc is mainly due to these people are also actually living very densely together. Many that would work these jobs are illegals and they will pack 20 people to a 1 bedroom appt.

I wonder if Germany/UK etc is seeing the same thing, but in their case would be immigrants working these jobs and living in their cultural and best financial way of many people in small rooms.

originally posted by: sligtlyskeptical

Testing is showing a 5-8% positive rate so it is pretty clear your conclusion is very errant.

Depends... here is 25%+

One of every five New York City residents tested positive for antibodies to the coronavirus, according to preliminary results described by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Thursday that suggested that the virus had spread far more widely than known.

a reply to: TXRabbit

My apologies for the hit and run post, was in a hurry,

Basically, it's looking a lot like we're about to hit Grand Solar Minimum, which often seems to coincide with global food shortages and the near collapse of civilisations, crops are already beginning to fail in some places,

Video contains sources,

Things could get bad, could,