Animal Derived Thiol Induced Work Exacerbated Asthma: A Brief Case Report of a Unique Workplace Hazard

A 33 year old female healthcare worker with a history of cough variant asthma presented with 2 weeks of dyspnea and cough that she believed to be due to recurring exposure to skunk spray in her work environment. The employee was working in a temporary structure outside the primary hospital campus. During the preceding 2 weeks, at least one striped skunk was observed multiple times by staff members to be crawling under the structure. The employee's symptoms were not initially considered serious by her supervisors who felt that the appreciable "skunk smell" was merely a nuisance odor. Repeated pre- and postexposure spirometry noted a 350 mL and 11% reduction in forced expiratory volume at one second (FEV1). A review of organic chemistry literature found that 2 thiols, also known as mercaptans, produced in striped skunk spray are structurally related to 1-butanethiol, a chemical workplace hazard and known respiratory irritant with established occupational exposure limits. The observation of the chemical similarities between these skunk-derived thiols and workplace thiols was the key factor in getting the employee temporarily removed from a hazardous, albeit unique, working environment.