17/02 Pregnant
women should avoid close contact with sheep during the lambing
season, the Government advised today.
The Department of Health, Defra and the Health and Safety
Executive have advised that pregnant women who come into close
contact with sheep during lambing may risk their own health, and
that of their unborn child, from infections that can occur in some
ewes.
Although these infections are uncommon, and the number of human
pregnancies affected by contact with sheep is extremely small, it
is important that pregnant women are aware of the potential risks
and take appropriate precautions.
To avoid the possible risk of infection, pregnant women are
advised that they should:
- not help to lamb or milk ewes;
- avoid contact with aborted or new-born lambs or with the
afterbirth, birthing fluids or materials (e.g. bedding)
contaminated by such birth products;
- avoid handling (including washing) clothing, boots or any
materials that may have come into contact with ewes, lambs or afterbirth;
- ensure partners attending lambing ewes take appropriate health
and hygiene precautions, including the wearing of personal
protective equipment and adequate washing to remove any potential contamination.
Pregnant women should seek medical advice if they experience
fever or influenza-like symptoms, or if concerned that they could
have acquired infection from a farm environment.
Farmers have a responsibility to minimise the risks to pregnant
women, including members of their family, the public and
professional staff visiting farms.
Notes to Editors
1. Farmers should consult their veterinary surgeon about suitable
vaccination programmes and any other disease control measures in sheep.
2. The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)
Regulations 2002 require employers and the self employed to assess
risks to health from harmful substances, including
micro-organisms, and to take steps to prevent or control those
risks, and The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations
1999 require employers and the self employed to further assess any
risks which affect pregnant women.
3. Further advice is available from HSE Infoline on 0845 3450055.
They may put you through to an HSE Occupational Health
Professional in your region if necessary.
4. The Department of Health advisory leaflet ‘While you are
pregnant: How to avoid infection from food and from contact with
animals’, is available, free of charge to general medical
practitioners and midwives from: dh@prolog.uk.com or the
telephone orderline 0300 123 1002.
5. Further information on zoonoses and appropriate control
measures can be found in HSE Agriculture Information sheet 2 -
Common Zoonoses in Agriculture. This is available from
the HSE website at www.HSE.gov.uk/pubns/ais2.pdf.
Also, the 1997 publication Infection risks to new and
expectant mothers in the workplace - a guide for employers,
by the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (ref: ISBN
0-7176-1360-7). Copies are available, price £10.50, from HSE
Books, PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 2WA, or by calling
01787 881165, or via their website at http://www.hsebooks.co.uk.
6. Further information on the infection risks to pregnant women
during the lambing season is available on the Defra website at http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/index.htm
and the HPA website at
http://www.hpa.org.uk/web/HPAweb&Page&HPAwebAutoListName/Page/1191942128199.
Contacts:
Defra Press Office
Phone: 020 7238 6600
NDS.DEFRA@coi.gsi.gov.uk
James Dubrey
Phone: 020 7238 6027
james.dubrey@defra.gsi.gov.uk