Warts among meat handlers.

The Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Retail Food Store Employees, Local 342, which represents meat handlers in the greater New York City area, wanted to determine whether warts were a significant problem among their membership. Findings from a prevalence study showed that the proportion of meat handlers who reported having warts (23.1%) was significantly higher than that for non-meat handlers (9.9%). The younger meat handlers had warts more frequently than did their older co-workers; there were no differences between the sexes. No one particular brand or type of meat could be associated with warts. Statistical tests of association indicated that meat handlers were more likely to have warts because of their occupation. We found that the switch to the Cryovac meat-packing process may have increased the likelihood of warts, although further study is needed to test that association.