Review of Health Effects Research - Agriculture Forestry and Fishing Research at NIOSH - page 92

Infectious Diseases
The output of the NIOSH AFF Program with respect to infectious diseases has
been modest. NIOSH did sponsor one conference on agroterrorism. There may
have been unexplored potential to partner with the Department of Homeland
Security in additional work on the topic. The growing concern about avian influ-
enza and the extensive planning already in progress for dealing with it in a possible
pandemic may provide NIOSH with additional opportunities for collaboration.
Gene-Environment Interaction
NIOSH funded early investigations in gene-environment interactions as they
pertain to work in production agriculture. In doing so, it demonstrated its abil-
ity to take advantage of opportunities created by an increase in knowledge about
agricultural exposures gained through the AFF Program and new technologies in
genetics. The next challenge is to conduct scientifically important studies on gene-
environment interactions with larger populations of AFF workers. Doing so would
require collecting data from multiple sites and demonstrating a level of cooperation
and coordination that has not been evident in some of the other research funded
through the AFF Program.
Psychological Effects
The effects of psychological stressors on the AFF workforce have not been ex-
tensively explored with NIOSH AFF Program resources. It is known that farmers
have a high rate of suicide, and a link to pesticide exposure has been proposed. The
AFF Program has the potential to explore the effect of occupational exposures and
psychological stressors on health outcomes in the AFF workforce.
Workplace Violence
NIOSH has made recommendations in an effort to reduce the impact of work-
place violence. Workplace violence occurs occasionally among hired farm laborers,
but there is very little evidence in literature regarding prevalence and reports are
anecdotal. In the California Agricultural Worker Health Survey, only 0.7 percent of
male workers reported ever having been a victim of workplace violence (Brammeier
et al., in press ; Villarejo and McCurdy, in press ). Data similarly shows that there were
no reported cases of workplace violence for fishermen from 2001-2007 nor does it
occur enough to be included as a question in the U.S. Coast Guard's accident in-
vestigation forms or databases (Lieutenant Commander Vasquez, U.S. Coast Guard