[Respiratory function in poultry workers]

A group of 343 workers (252 male and 91 female) employed in poultry farms was studied for the prevalence of acute and chronic respiratory symptoms and lung function changes. There were significantly higher prevalences of most of the chronic respiratory symptoms in poultry workers than in controls (p < 0.01 or < 0.05). Poultry male smokers had significantly higher prevalences of chronic cough, chronic phlegm and chronic bronchitis than poultry male nonsmokers (p < 0.01). Poultry workers employed for more than 10 years had also significantly higher prevalences of these symptoms than those with shorter employment (except female smokers). There was also a high prevalence of acute symptoms in poultry workers which develop during work shift. The measured FVC, FEV1 and FEF25 in poultry workers were significantly lower than predicted normal values. Changes were particularly pronounced in workers employed for more than 10 years. We showed additionally that a water-soluble poultry extract causes a dose-related contraction of nonsensitized guinea pig tracheal smooth muscle when studied in vitro. Our data suggest that the work in poultry farms may in some workers cause the development of acute and chronic respiratory impairment.