Occupational seafood allergy: a review

Abstract

Background-Recent years have seen increased levels of production and consumption of seafood, leading to more frequent reporting of allergic reactions in occupational and domestic settings. This review focuses on occupational allergy in the fishing and seafood processing industry. Review-Workers involved in either manual or automated processing of crabs, prawns, mussels, fish, and fishmeal production are commonly exposed to various constituents of seafood. Aerosolisation of seafood and cooking fluid during processing are potential occupational situations that could result in sensitisation through inhalation. There is great variability of aerosol exposure within and among various jobs with reported allergen concentrations ranging from 0.001 to 5.061(µg/m 3 ). Occupational dermal exposure occurs as a result of unprotected handling of seafood and its byproducts. Occupational allergies have been reported in workers exposed to arthropods (crustaceans), molluscs, pisces (bony fish) and other agents derived from seafood. The prevalence of occupational asthma ranges from 7% to 36%, and for occupational protein contact dermatitis, from 3% to 11%. These health outcomes are mainly due to high molecular weight proteins in seafood causing an IgE mediated response. Cross reactivity between various species within a major seafood grouping also occurs. Limited evidence from dose-response relations indicate that development of symptoms is related to duration or intensity of exposure. The evidence for atopy as a risk factor for occupational sensitisation and asthma is supportive, whereas evidence for cigarette smoking is limited. Disruption of the intact skin barrier seems to be an important added risk factor for occupational protein contact dermatitis. Conclusion-The range of allergic disease associated with occupational exposure to crab is well characterised, whereas for other seafood agents the evidence is somewhat limited. There is a need for further epidemiological studies to better characterise this risk. More detailed characterisation of specific protein antigens in aerosols and associated establishment of dose-response relations for acute and chronic exposure to seafood; the respective roles of skin contact and inhalational exposure in allergic sensitisation and cross reactivity; and the contribution of host associated factors in the development of occupational seafood allergies are important areas for future research. (Occup Environ Med 2001;58:553-562)

Purified sardine and king crab trypsin display individual differences in PAR-2-, NF-κB-, and IL-8 signaling

“…Allergic diseases associated with occupational exposure to crab are well characterized (Jeebhay et al, 2001). Several studies report a high incident of occupational asthma in workers processing snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) and king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus), but other symptoms as rhinitis, conjunctivitis, and skin rash are also registered (Orford and Wilson, 1985;Cartier et al, 1986;Ortega et al, 2001;Howse et al, 2006;Gautrin et al, 2009).…”

“…Additionally, different types of seafood seem to display dissimilar allergenic/irritant potencies and higher prevalence of occupational allergic outcomes/airway symptoms is associated with exposure to aerosols from arthropods (crustaceans) than with pisces (bony fish) and molluscs (Jeebhay et al, 2001). Based on this knowledge, we wished to investigate if we could detect differences in intracellular signalling pathways coupled to IL-8 in human airway epithelial cells following stimulation with king crab and sardine trypsins.…”

Occupational Exposure to Bioaerosols in Norwegian Crab Processing Plants

“…Workers in the shellfish industry seem to have more severe symptoms and are more often sensitised than those in the fish industry (Jeebhay et al 2001;Jeebhay and Cartier 2010;Lopata and Jeebhay 2013;Cartier et al 2004;Shiryaeva et al 2010;Thorn 2001).…”

“…Several steps involved in processing crab, e.g. butchering, de-gilling, cracking, boiling, and washing/scrubbing, are shown to produce aerosols (Jeebhay et al 2001;Jeebhay and Cartier 2010;Jeebhay 2011) Previous investigations show that a considerable portion of airborne particulate mass produced during crab processing is within respirable range (Jeebhay et al 2001).…”

“…Bioaerosols are particulate matter or liquid droplets suspended in air, containing agents of biological origin such as endotoxins, microorganisms, and proteins including high molecular weight allergens and enzymes Bang et al 2005) depending on the type of seafood being processed Jeebhay et al 2001). Several steps involved in processing crab, e.g.…”