[Respiratory symptoms and specific IgE in workers on a maize farm]

A questionnaire concerning respiratory symptoms was completed for 101 workers on a maize farm; 73 railway workers were used as a control group. Symptoms suggestive of allergy were found in 90% of the farm workers compared with only 4% of the control group. However, total IgE levels of the farm workers were not significantly raised and only 40% had positive radio-allergosorbent tests against specific allergens. Smoking seemed neither to reduce nor enhance symptoms. Fungal spores and bacteria in the vicinity were sampled and identified; no evidence of an allergic response to these agents was found. Mechanisms other than allergy must be considered responsible for the farm workers' symptoms.