[A study of occupational asthma and specific IgE in sericulture workers]

Clinical investigation revealed that 75.6% (68/90) of sericulture workers examined had allergic respiratory symptoms. Of the 90 workers, 14 (15.6%) suffered from occupational asthma. Work-related allergens including silkworm cocoon (SC), silkworm urine (SU), moth excrete (ME) and moth scales (MS) were collected and prepared. Serum specific IgE levels were detected by ELISA. The results showed that the level of sIgE in asthmatic workers was significantly higher than that in the "common symptom" group, asymptomatic group and control group. No significant difference in total IgE was found between the workers and controls. The anti-SU-sIgE positive rate was significantly higher than those of sIgE to the other three allergens. These results indicate that the high levels of sIgE are responsible for occupational asthma in sericulture workers and that SU is an important allergen in these patients.