Immunological and respiratory changes in animal food processing workers

Abstract

A group of 35 men employed in the processing of animal food was studied to assess the relation between respiratory findings and immunological status. The most frequent positive skin prick reactions to occupational allergens were to fish flour (82.9%), followed by carotene (77.1%), corn (65.7%), four-leaf clover (62.9%), sunflower (54.3%), chicken meat (31.4%), soy (28.6%), and yeast (22.7%). Increased total IgE serum levels were found in 14/35 (40.0%) animal food workers compared to 1/39 (2.6%) in a healthy population (p less than 0.01). A significantly higher prevalence of chronic respiratory symptoms was found among the exposed workers compared to control workers. There was however, no significant difference in the prevalence of chronic respiratory symptoms between animal food workers with positive and negative skin tests to house dust or to fish flour or among those with increased or normal IgE (except for dyspnea). The frequency of acute symptoms associated with the work shift was high among the animal food workers but similar by immunological status. There were significant mean across-shift reductions for all ventilatory capacity tests, being particularly pronounced for FEF25. Workers with positive skin tests to fish flour antigen had significantly larger across-shift reductions in FEF25 than workers with negative skin reactions. An aqueous extract of animal food dust caused a dose-related contractile response of isolated guinea pig tracheal muscle in vitro. Our data suggest that, in addition to any immunological response animal food dust may produce in vivo, it probably also causes direct irritant or pharmacological reactions on the airways as suggested by our in vitro data.

Pharmacologic Characterization of Latex Extracts by Isolated Guinea Pig Tracheal Tissue

“…The data obtained in our study are similar to those of our previous investigations of airway smooth muscles in the isolated guinea pig trachea with different organic dust extracts, such as coffee, soy, spices, animal food, and brewery dust (hops, barley, yeast) [11,12,14,[22][23][24]. These pharmacologic studies of latex and other extracts of organic dusts on isolated guinea pig tracheal smooth muscle suggest a complex nonimmunologic (non-IgE) effect of these airway irritants.…”

Effects of Recycled Paper Dust Extracts on Isolated Guinea Pig Trachea

“…The data illustrated by these studies are similar to those of our previous studies with different organic dust extracts such as coffee, soy, spices, animal food, poultry and swine confinement building dust, brewery dust (hops, barley, yeast), as well as textile dust (cotton, hemp and wool) [23][24][25][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42]. The pharamcologic studies of paper dust extract on isoalted guinea pig tracheal smooth muscle suggest a complex effect of this airway irritant.…”

Pharmacological Studies of the Effect of Wheat Grain Extract

“…WGE produced dose-response curves similar to those seen with other organic dust extracts such as soy [19], spices [20], animal food [21], barley, hops and rye [15]as well as flour and cocoa [14]. …”

“…Our experimental data on the pharmacologic effects of WGE suggest that the acute clinical effects of grain dust seen in workers may, in part, be related to a non-immunological mechanism similar to those seen with other organic dust extracts [14, 15, 19, 20, 21]. Our data with WGE in nonsensensitized animals are supported by the results of Brisman et al [22]who suggested that nasal mucosal inflammation, in flour-dust-exposed bakers, may be nonallergic.…”