Occupational allergic disease in cereal workers by stored grain pests

Area of Science:

• Allergy and Immunology
• Occupational Health
• Environmental Health

Background:

• Workers in the cereal industry frequently experience respiratory symptoms.
• The cause of these symptoms is often unclear, especially when flour sensitization is not detected.
• Stored-grain pests, including mites, tenebroids, and cockroaches, are common in grain products.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of stored-grain pests as allergens in grain workers with respiratory symptoms.
• To determine the prevalence of sensitization to mites, tenebroids, and cockroaches in this population.
• To correlate occupational exposure with allergic sensitization and respiratory symptoms.

Main Methods:

• Epidemiological analysis of 4379 individuals from a cereal industry area.
• In vivo diagnostic tests (prick tests, RAST) on 50 grain workers using extracts of mites, Tenebrio molitor, and Blatta orientalis.
• Challenge tests (specific and methacholine) to confirm the association between symptoms and occupational exposure.

Main Results:

• 18.96% of the total sample showed sensitization to mites.
• Among mite-sensitive patients, 11.88% were sensitized to storage mites.
• High sensitization rates were observed for Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (58%), Tenebrio molitor (50%), and Blatta orientalis (36%).
• 22% of patients had positive tests to storage mites despite negative tests for Dermatophagoides species.

Conclusions:

• Sensitization to stored-grain pests is a significant factor in respiratory symptoms among grain workers.
• Identifying specific allergens like mites, tenebroids, and cockroaches is vital for accurate diagnosis.
• Environmental monitoring of dust samples for these pests aids in clinical diagnosis.