Impact of a foot and mouth disease crisis on post-traumatic stress symptoms in farmers

Miranda Olff, Maarten W. J. Koeter, E. Heleen van Haaften, Paul H. Kersten, Berthold P. R. Gersons

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

49 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Culling 27000 farm animals during an epidemic of foot and mouth disease in The Netherlands in 2001 resulted in substantial psychological distress among Dutch farmers. We investigated the association of exposure to this crisis with symptoms of intrusions and avoidance as found in post-traumatic stress disorder. Survey results from the Impact of Event Scale administered to 661 Dutch dairy farmers showed that about half of those whose animals were culled suffered from severe post-traumatic distress; we conclude that such agricultural crises can have a substantial impact on mental health. Declaration of interest None
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)165-166
JournalBritish journal of psychiatry
Volume186
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2005

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