Thermophilic actinomycetes in cane sugar mills: an aeromicrobiologic and seroepidemiologic study

Aerial prevalence of clinically important thermophilic actinomycetes and occurrence of precipitating antibodies against them in sera of 153 exposed workers have been reported. The study was carried out in two cane sugar mills namely, the Upper Doab Sugar Mills and the Ramala Sugar Mills, located in north-west India. In both the sugar mills, T. sacchari was the predominant species, it accounted for 55.1% and 50.3% of the total population of thermophilic actinomycetes, followed by T. vulgaris (19.7% and 23.7%), T. thalpophilus (21.1% and 17.1%), Saccharomonospora viridis (3.4% and 5.0%) and Saccharopolyspora rectivirgula (Faenia rectivirgula) (0.7% and 3.9%), respectively. Precipitating antibodies against thermophilic actinomycetes were demonstrable in 34 (22.2%) workers; T. sacchari alone accounted for 20 of the positive precipitin reactions, followed by S. rectivirgula in 10. The mean absorbance values for IgG antibody activity against T. sacchari as well as S. rectivirgula were found to be elevated significantly in the symptomatic workers than in the asymptomatic workers (p < 0.05) or unexposed controls (p < 0.001). However, the difference in IgG antibody activity was insignificant between precipitin-positive symptomatic workers and precipitin-positive asymptomatic workers. The results indicate that clinically important thermophilic actinomycetes are widely prevalent in cane sugar mills, and T. sacchari and S. rectivirgula are the major species involved in the sensitization of the bagasse workers in India.