Goat Farm Dangers?

Wherever there are concentrations of animals adjacent to human populations, there is an increased risk of zoonotic disease (transmission of infections between animals and people). The region of Noord Brabant, in The Netherlands, has had large populations of dairy goats for many years. Between 2007 and 2010, there was a devastating outbreak of Q fever in this location. The outbreak eventually resulted in 95 human deaths and this was followed by the culling of 50,000 goats (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/18/we-need-answers-why-are-people-living-near-dutch-goat-farms-getting-sick). A new zoonotic disease may now be associated with the goat farms. People living near the goat farms, seem to have a greater (between 20 and 55% higher) risk of developing pneumonia. The closer one lives to the goats, the greater the risk. People are still investigating this association but there appears, in the aftermath of Covid-19, to be a greater appreciation of the dangers of zoonotics.