Laboratory Animal Allergy

Ranging from mild respiratory allergy to anaphylaxis, laboratory animal allergy (LAA) can adversely affect an individual's health and career. LAA can be prevented through a hierarchy of controls. However, workers remain at risk as many, if not most, workplaces have not fully adopted needed prevention practices. To address this risk, organizations should use a multidisciplinary leadership team. Along with participation on the leadership team, occupational medicine physicians should oversee a medical surveillance program that identifies workers with LAA including incident cases, as well as workers with LAA who are symptomatic in the workplace. One indication that medical surveillance may be effective in identifying incident cases is that it is detecting prevalent cases, usually in the range of 10%-20% or higher. Programs with lower detection rates of prevalent cases should adjust their approach to medical surveillance. The results of medical surveillance, including the incidence and prevalence of LAA, should be shared within the organization and used to guide the use of controls. Periodic self-audits are recommended to better protect workers by identifying and addressing opportunities for program improvement.