Respiratory Health and Farming: An Essay

Abstract

Farming, one of the oldest professions of mankind, is by far the one that employs the largest number of individuals worldwide. Although outdoor country work is supposedly healthy, farmers are at risk of respiratory diseases because of their work environment. This essay summarizes the major respiratory health risks to farmers in Canada. Farming is a major industry in Canada. Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick have potatoes, Nova Scotia has apples, Quebec and Ontario have dairy, the Prairies have wheat and British Columbia has fruits. But then we all have pigs, lots of pigs. In Quebec, there are as many pigs as there are humans, and in Saskatchewan, there are three or four pigs per person. Canada exports hog products around the world, mostly to the United States and Asia. Because of the importance of this industry and the potential associated health risks, most often respiratory-related, Canadian researchers have developed internationally recognized expertise in this area. As a respirologist born and raised on a small mixed farm in Prince Edward Island, research on the respiratory health impact of the farm environment was a natural choice for me. My background allowed me to communicate with farmers in their terms and to understand their interest and concerns. This connection gave me a privileged relationship with farmers in Quebec, especially dairy farmers and swine producers, and made most of my work on farmer’s lung (FL) and swine building environments possible. Dr James Dosman from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, is by far the champion of Canada’s research in respiratory health in farmers. He has led the way in defining the respiratory health impact of grain handling, and swine and poultry production. Besides his excellence as a researcher, he shines in his promotional and leadership role. Because of him, the research community in this field now holds a seven-year Canadian Institutes of Health Research training program, a multimillion dollar grant for the study of endotoxins in swine buildings, and recently, a large Canada Foundation for Innovation cross-Canada infrastructure grant. Dr James Dosman is what we say in French a ‘rassem-bleur’, one who brings people together for a cause. Researchers across Canada who work together largely because of his initiatives include Judy Guernsey from Halifax, Nova Scotia; Caroline Duchaine and myself from Quebec; Lynn Holness, Will Pickett and Bob Brison from Ontario; Drs Sentilsilvan and Kulig from Alberta; Martha McLeod and Helene Ward from British Columbia; and of course Dr James Dosman’s team in Saskatoon.