ArticlePLOS global public health2022
SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and risk factors among meat packing, produce processing, and farm workers.
Article in PLOS global public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- "We Were on Our Own": Animal Slaughtering and Processing Industry Workers' Perspectives on Workplace Health and Safety During the COVID-19 Pandemic in North Carolina.New solutions : a journal of environmental and occupational health policy : NS · 2026Article
- Seroprevalence of spotted fever rickettsiosis and ehrlichiosis among food processing workers and their families in Latino communities in North Carolina.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Article
- SARS-CoV-2 antibody prevalence by industry, workplace characteristics, and workplace infection prevention and control measures, North Carolina, USA, 2021 to 2022.Annals of work exposures and health · 2024Article
- COVID-19 hospitalization risk after outpatient nirmatrelvir/ritonavir use, January to August 2022, North Carolina.The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy · 2024Article
- Seroepidemiology and risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection among household members of food processing and farm workers in North Carolina.IJID regions · 2023Article
- Geoepidemiological perspective on COVID-19 pandemic review, an insight into the global impact.Frontiers in public health · 2023Review
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Authors and funding
18 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Meat packing, produce processing, and farm workers are known to have an elevated risk of COVID-19, but occupational risk factors in this population are unclear. We performed an observational cohort study of meat packing, produce processing, and farm workers in North Carolina in fall 2020. Blood, saliva, and nasal turbinate samples were collected to assess for SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity. Risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity were investigated using chi-square tests, two-sample t-tests, and adjusted risk ratio analyses. Among 118 enrolled workers, the baseline SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence was 50.0%. Meat packing plant workers had the highest SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence (64.6%), followed by farm workers (45.0%) and produce processing workers (10.0%), despite similar sociodemographic characteristics. Compared to SARS-CoV-2 seronegative workers, seropositive workers were more likely to work in loud environments that necessitated yelling to communicate (RR: 1.83, 95% CI: 1.25-2.69), work in cold environments (RR: 1.58, 95% CI: 1.12-2.24), or continue working despite developing symptoms at work (RR: 1.63, 95% CI: 1.14-2.32). After adjusting for age and working despite symptoms, high occupational noise levels were associated with a 1.72 times higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity (95% CI: 1.16-2.55). Half of food processing workers showed evidence of past SARS-CoV-2 infection, a prevalence five times higher than most of the United States population at the time of the study. Work environments with loud ambient noise may pose elevated risks for SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Our findings also highlight the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 among underserved and economically disadvantaged Latinx communities in the United States.
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Registered trials
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