Meat staff contract 'farm fever'

Scotbeef pledged to keep staff and customers informed

Eleven people who work at a meat processing plant in Bridge of Allan in Stirlingshire have contracted a rare infection known as Q fever.

NHS Forth Valley said it was possible others could be affected by the outbreak of the flu-like illness.

An environmental health team was called in after workers at the Scotbeef facility reported feeling unwell.

The health board said the risk of infection spreading to those who do not work at the plant was small.

Q fever is caused by a bacterium called Coxiella burnetti carried by farm animals.

We regret that staff have been affected and we have done all we can to keep employees and customers fully informed Adam Muggoch Scotbeef director

The infection is usually passed to humans through the faeces, urine or milk of goats, sheep, or cows.

It can also spread if people inhale dust that contains particles of infected animal tissue.

Within a few weeks of becoming infected a person will experience a high fever, severe cough, headaches and muscle pains. However, many will fight off the infection without needing treatment.

When this is the case the symptoms disappear after one or two weeks. However, some people can develop more severe problems.

'High standards'

Once Q fever has been diagnosed with a blood test, doctors can prescribe antibiotics, which usually allow people to make a full recovery.

Adam Muggoch, Scotbeef director, confirmed that a number of staff had fallen ill.

He said: "I can confirm we've had a number of staff suffering from flu-like symptoms over the past two weeks.

"On Monday, it was confirmed that they had Q fever, an infection normally found in sheep and cattle."

Mr Muggoch added: "We operate to extremely high standards and we have been working closely with the relevant health and food standards authorities over the last two weeks to resolve the situation.

"We regret that staff have been affected and we have done all we can to keep employees and customers fully informed."

Blood tests have now confirmed that the illness is Q fever NHS Forth Valley

In a statement, NHS Forth Valley said it had been investigating the illness along with Health Protection Scotland and Stirling Council's environmental health team.

It said the teams had been in contact with a number of people who had been ill over the past two weeks.

"Blood tests have now confirmed that the illness is Q fever," it said.

The health board added: "While we would not expect there to be any cases in people who do not work at the plant, there is a small theoretical risk of contracting Q fever by airborne spread within a half mile radius of the plant.

"We will be increasing our surveillance and have contacted GPs in this area to notify NHS Forth Valley if any patient presents with a flu-like illness of this nature."

Eleven people who work at the plant have been diagnosed

Leading microbiologist Professor Hugh Pennington described the outbreak as "big".

He told BBC Scotland: "It's a big number, it's a big outbreak. It's not the first outbreak we've seen in this particular kind of circumstance.

"The first outbreak was in Australia in 1935, which was associated with a meat plant. But 11 cases is a big outbreak."

However, Prof Pennington said the risk to the general public was small.

He said: "The organism can spread in the air but usually you need pretty close contact with an infected source.

"For example, the bedding on which a sick animal has been resting. If you breathe in the dry dust from that you can get infected. So, I don't think people living in the immediate vicinity should be too worried."