People who live near a goat farm more often suffer from pneumonia than others. The Health Council – an independent body that advises the government – concludes that the farms are probably also the cause of the complaints and therefore argues for measures “to limit the health risks for local residents of goat farms”.
The researchers have placed several studies side by side. They point to a context. For example, in Noord-Brabant and North Limburg, where there are many livestock farms, between 2014 and 2016, up to 60 percent more cases of pneumonia than in areas with few livestock farms.
Other studies showed that the lungs of local residents of goat farms work less well. After an infection with the coronavirus, local residents also had more serious complaints than others.
In 2018, the Health Council had already conducted research into pneumonia about goat farms. Then there were indications for a connection, but the image is now clearer. The researchers do not think that there is a single source that makes people get sick, but that it is about ‘a combination of factors’.
The Health Council does not yet come up with suggestions for measures to protect the health of local residents. They are in the next part of the research, which will be published at the end of this year.
According to Karien Stronks, chairman of the Health Council, that means that governments have to wait for a causal relationship is one hundred percent certain “Governments must now take measures to limit risks to the health of local residents,” Stronks told NOS.
In Drenthe, due to the possible health risks, a temporary ban on starting a goat farm applies. Existing farms are not allowed to expand both the number of goats and the stables through that goat stop.
The province previously indicated that the prohibition would apply until the results of follow -up research are known. Then the province would like to see if the rules would be withdrawn or adjusted. Whether that moment has arrived, a spokesperson for the province could not yet say.
Interest organization LTO Geitenhouderij has taken note of the advice ‘with care’. “The health of local residents is of course of great importance for us as a sector. We are therefore taking the outcome extremely seriously and want to take appropriate measures to limit any risks,” says Jos Tolboom chairman.