Thousands of German farmers and gardeners may have developed Parkinson’s disease due to occupational exposure to pesticides, a report suggests. According to the “Neuer Osnabrücker Zeitung” (Monday edition), around 8,300 cases are being reviewed for possible recognition as an occupational disease.
A spokesperson for the Social Insurance for Agriculture, Forestry, and Horticulture (SVLFG) told the newspaper that no recognition has been granted so far. “Given the large number of cases to be checked, we expect the processing to take a significant amount of time” the spokesperson said.
The review wave is prompted by a recommendation published in March 2024 by the Medical Expert Advisory Board of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. The expert panel, after a multi-year review, concluded that the handling of certain chemical plant protection agents can trigger Parkinson’s disease. Therefore, the experts advocated for recognition as an occupational disease.
Recognition would mean that affected individuals would be entitled to benefits from their accident insurance, such as pensions. However, the inclusion in the relevant catalog has not yet occurred, as confirmed by a spokesperson for the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, citing ongoing coordination processes.
For affected individuals, this has no immediate impact, as a provisional recognition as a “Wie-Berufskrankheit” (similar occupational disease) is possible, which is associated with the same entitlements. Until the decision last year, Parkinson’s patients who linked their disease to professional pesticide use had limited chances of recognition. In the past years, according to the NOZ, 60 such suspicion reports were filed with the SVLFG, but all were denied.
The insurance had, on its own initiative, sent out 7,900 notifications to policyholders who had been treated for Parkinson’s disease in the past years. An additional 400 suspicion reports were submitted by doctors, employees, or employers.