Occupational and environmental livestock exposures are associated with alterations in the upper respiratory tract microbiome
Cornu Hewitt, Beatrice Odendaal, Mari-Lee de Rooij, Myrna MT Bossers, Alex Chu, Mei Ling van Kersen, Warner Lotterman, Aniek van der Giessen, Joke Bogaert, Debby Smit, Lidwien AM
Cornu Hewitt, Beatrice
Odendaal, Mari-Lee
de Rooij, Myrna MT
Bossers, Alex
Chu, Mei Ling
van Kersen, Warner
Lotterman, Aniek
van der Giessen, Joke
Bogaert, Debby
Smit, Lidwien AM
Series / Report no.
Open Access
Type
Journal Article
Article
Article
Language
en
Date of publication
2025-09-12
Year of publication
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Title
Occupational and environmental livestock exposures are associated with alterations in the upper respiratory tract microbiome
Translated Title
Published in
Environ Res 2025; 286(Pt 1):122847
Abstract
Livestock farm emissions have been linked to respiratory health, potentially mediated through alterations in the respiratory microbiota. We investigated the associations between occupational and environmental livestock farm exposures and changes in the upper respiratory tract (URT) microbiome. Nasopharyngeal (NP) and oropharyngeal (OP) swabs were collected from goat farmers (91 NP and 96 OP samples) and rural residents (956 NP and 954 OP samples), and microbial community composition was characterised using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. First, we compared the respiratory microbiome of goat farmers and residents to assess the effects of occupational exposure. Next, we evaluated how varying levels of environmental livestock exposure influenced the microbiome of rural residents. Goat farmers exhibited higher NP microbial diversity but lower OP diversity compared to the residents. NP samples from farmers had higher relative abundances of the genera Sphingomonas, Pseudomonas and Jeotgalicoccus, and lower abundances of Corynebacterium, Lawsonella and Nocardioides. In the OP of goat farmers, Rothia was the most significantly increased genus. Residential exposure levels - assessed through livestock density (pigs, cattle, poultry, and goats) and modelled livestock-related microbial emissions - were not associated with overall microbiome diversity or composition. However, increasing livestock exposure was associated with subtle taxonomic shifts, particularly in the NP. Our findings highlight the pronounced influence of occupational exposure on the URT microbiome and the more subtle effects of environmental exposure, both of which may have implications for respiratory health.