If you’ve ever dunged-out straw, shavings and manure-filled stalls or a chicken coop after a rainy week, you will recognize how easily mold, fungi and bacteria could be present in that substrate. Rob Riley, MD, shares how an allergic reaction to mold and bacteria in the lungs causes inflammation. This health issue is known as hypersensitivity pneumonitis or farmer’s lung. People contract it when they work with moldy hay, straw or grain.
We now see more traditional farm animals in the suburbs. Some owners don’t have the background to understand personal health risks that can exist in hay, straw and grain. These clients will appreciate an occasional warning about keeping hay, feed and bedding dry.
Source: AgWeb, December 27, 2019. Link. There’s an acute form of farmer’s lung where symptoms occur within hours of exposure. It feels like the flu and may go away on its own. However, a worse case may turn in to chronic farmer’s lung which scars the lungs. It may lead to a disability or fatality.
Dr. Riley tells farmers to wear a mask when they deal with wet, moldy hay or grain.”