Respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function in chicken catchers in poultry confinement units

To evaluate the respiratory consequences of working in poultry confinement units, we completed a cross-sectional epidemiologic study of respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function in 59 chicken catchers. The results were compared to a published reference standard of nonexposed blue-collar workers. Chicken catchers reported a high rate of acute symptoms associated with work in poultry houses. They also reported statistically significant higher rates for chronic phlegm (39.0%) and chronic wheezing (27.1%) than nonexposed blue-collar workers. Chicken catchers had significant decrements over a work shift in forced vital capacity (-2.2%) and forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (-3.4%), and there was suggestive evidence that they had decreased preshift pulmonary function compared with nonexposed blue-collar workers. These results indicate that chicken catchers are at risk for respiratory dysfunction and emphasize the need to develop measures to minimize their exposure to respiratory toxicants in poultry confinement units.