Occupational diseases, such as silicosis in miners, are widespread but it is only comparatively recently that they have received the serious attention they demand. Leaving aside accidents associated with machinery and agrochemicals, farm workers are particularly liable to a large number of health hazards – physical, chemical, and biological. The nature of the industry – small groups of workers often employed in remote places under primitive conditions – makes it difficult to assess the real incidence of work-associated diseases and to organise effective treatment and preventive measures.
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