Long-Term Nonmalignant Disease Mortality in Subjects Exposed to Transmissible Agents Present in Animals Used for Food.

Objective: To study mortality from nonmalignant diseases in subjects with high exposure to transmissible agents present in animals used for food, and in their raw or inadequately cooked products.

Methods: Mortality was compared in a cohort of meat handlers in slaughtering and processing plants with that of the U.S. general population.

Results: Excess mortality was observed for conditions known to be associated with infections-these include, septicemia, chronic nephritis, diseases of the kidney and ureter, diseases of the pancreas, cirrhosis of the liver, acute and subacute endocarditis, acute rheumatic fever, functional diseases of the heart, aortic aneurysm, intracranial and intraspinous abscess, and meningitis. Excess mortality was also observed for ischemic heart disease and diabetes, conditions without an established infectious etiology, but which have been linked with infections.

Conclusions: If transmissible agents present in food animals and their raw products cause long-term diseases and mortality in humans, this study importantly points to the likely diseases, many of which are already known to be associated with infections. The excess mortality observed for ischemic heart disease and diabetes is consistent with existing evidence linking these conditions with infections, and gives rise to the novel hypothesis that microbial agents present in food animals and their products may be candidates for an infective role in the occurrence of these conditions, and therefore needs further investigation.