How slaughterhouses become corona hotspots

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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At the meat giant Tönnies in Gütersloh, more than 1,550 people have been proven to be infected with Sars-CoV-2. He is by no means the only one: Other meat processors at home and abroad also experience severe outbreaks of infection with a noticeable frequency. Why is it that so many of them are becoming corona hotspots?

Indeed, several unfavorable factors come together in the meat industry. This includes unfavorable conditions in slaughterhouses as well as possible precarious working and living situations.

Cold makes infections easier

An important difference to many other types of business may be the climatic conditions in meat processing - especially the cool temperatures. In order for the meat to last as long as possible, the cutting rooms are kept at a maximum of 12 degrees Celsius.

In contrast to bacteria such as salmonella, which multiply particularly well in warmer temperatures, lower temperatures are advantageous for many viruses: they can survive longer under these circumstances. In addition, cool temperatures favor the transmission path via the air. Infectious tiny droplets, so-called aerosols, remain stable longer and thus accumulate more strongly in the air.

Ventilation systems distribute infectious aerosols

The air conditioning and ventilation systems could play a decisive role: They constantly circulate the air, even in large halls. This allows aerosols to spread faster over longer distances. Hygiene scientist Martin Exner said at a press conference in Gütersloh on Wednesday that ventilation systems could be a previously overlooked risk factor. In the future, the risk of corona infection could possibly be reduced using high-performance filters or the use of UV light.

Those who work hard breathe more intensely

In addition: Cutting up and balancing pork and beef carcasses is a backbreaking job that requires intensive breathing. However, deep and fast breaths increase the emission of aerosols. At the same time, they cause infectious air to be inhaled more deeply.

Neglected hygiene standards?

Hygiene standards should be a matter of course in food production. This is especially true for slaughterhouses. Masks, protective clothing, gloves and glasses are actually standard. In addition, there are currently Corona measures such as special distance rules. In large companies with assembly line work, the latter are likely to be particularly difficult to implement.

Crowded and without masks

There are indications that both standard and special corona hygiene rules have been disregarded in many cases. Among other things, a Tönnies employee reports in the WDR magazine Westpol of tightly packed employees in the cafeteria and only 50 cm wide distances on the assembly line. An official Tönnies promotional video from April is supposed to prove this and also show employees without masks.

Occupational health and safety inspectors also found inadequate implementation at the beginning of May, but no longer at the end of May. According to WDR information, company boss Clemens Tönnies holds that everything was "managed excellently" in May.

Precarious working conditions encourage contagion

The extent to which precarious working conditions also contributed to the outbreaks is still being investigated. The heavy work and the cold environment are already stressful for the body and the immune system. In addition, massive overtime work could weaken the body's defenses.

It is not easy to see how high the loads were, especially at Tönnies. There is suspicion that overtime, night and weekend work may not have been recorded.

Living in cramped conditions

Many of the 6500 Tönnies employees are temporary workers who are often provided by subcontractors. These apparently often accommodate workers in cramped living conditions. This means: The risk of infection for these people is particularly high outside of working hours.

How can the infection process be contained now?

All Tönnies employees, including the CEO, and their close contacts are currently under quarantine. For this purpose, several blocks of flats were cordoned off with construction fences, among other things. The problem, however, is that quick contact with employees was made extremely difficult by the subcontractor structure.

It is unclear how many of them left. The situation is also exacerbated by the fact that many workers have little knowledge of German or English and were initially unable to understand the quarantine measures.

Since it is assumed that the virus has long since made its way into the communities, more stringent contact restrictions have been imposed for the Gütersloh and Warendorf districts after the schools and daycare centers were closed. In several federal states, including Bavaria, people from Gütersloh are only allowed to stay in hotels with a negative corona test.

Can you get infected through meat?

According to the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), there are no known cases in which people have contracted the coronavirus through the consumption of contaminated food. In theory, this is possible, but unlikely.

The path of infection is via the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract. That is why most people get infected via droplets or probably also via aerosols. Contact infections via contaminated hands appear to be significantly less common in comparison.

You could get infected through meat if you touch a piece and then touch the mucous membranes of your mouth, nose or eyes. This is where washing your hands after preparation helps.

In addition, the usual recommendations for meat preparation apply:

• Heat sufficiently high and long enough.
• Thoroughly clean surfaces and equipment that have come into contact with raw meat during preparation with warm water and washing-up liquid.

Cold, on the other hand, has little effect on coronaviruses. Corona viruses can also still be found on frozen goods. Therefore, the same precautions should be taken during preparation as with fresh meat.

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