Meaty matters

In Zoe Tidman’s article, “Coronavirus: Why are there so many outbreaks at meat factories?” (online, Friday), she reports on the high incidence of coronavirus cases in meat factories in the UK and around the world.

The article records representatives from the meat industry as being defensive but baffled for an explanation while experts believe that the unique conditions in meat factories, in particular the low-temperature environment, may have contributed.

My opinion, based on studies of the airborne transmission of viruses for about 30 years, is that a practice, common to meat factories, may provide an explanation. Washing down is used frequently in such facilities to maintain hygiene and when accompanied by vigorous brushing or especially by high-pressure hosing this will generate large quantities of droplets and aerosols. If the floor or surfaces in a facility is contaminated with a pathogen, such as a coronavirus, it is very likely that infectious particles will be dispersed into the atmosphere. Consequently, workers in that environment will be at risk of inhaling the airborne virus.

The alarmingly high incidence of cases of coronavirus in meat factories calls for better protection of workers. A step in that direction would be to provide them with virus-protective masks of FFP2/3 standard or higher.

Alex Donaldson, former head of the Pirbright Laboratory, Institute for Animal Health Guildford