Source: Annual Congress 2010 - Occupational asthma
Disease area: Airway diseases

Abstract

While the prevalence of occupational allergy and asthma in the snow crab industry in Canada is very high, the occurrence of these conditions has not been reported in Greenland. This pilot study examined the prevalence of occupational seafood allergy among Greenlandic workers. We assessed 20 crab workers in a snow crab processing plant in Greenland who volunteered to participate. In addition to crab the workers were exposed to shrimp as this was also processed on the facility. They answered a medical and work history questionnaire administered by an interviewer, were skin prick tested to common inhalant and work-specific allergens, underwent spirometry and blood sampling for total and specific IgE to crab. Workers (14 females/6 males), mostly Inuit, had on average 2.97 years of crab exposure (range 0.02-10). Five (25%) workers were atopic. Positive skin reactions were common to snow crab (n=8;40 %) and shrimp (n=4;20 %). Specific IgE results are still pending. Two workers had high total IgE titers (>2000µg/L) possibly indicating parasitic infestation. Current rhinitis- and asthma-like symptoms were common (n=4 and 9, respectively). Three subjects had a physician‘s diagnosis of asthma after starting work in the crab industry. Based on history of work-related symptoms and skin tests results, probable occupational rhinitis, allergy and asthma were seen in 1 (5.6%), 2 (11.1%) and 4 (22.2%) workers, respectively. Therefore, Greenlander Inuits do not appear to be protected against sensitization to crab or shrimp when occupationally exposed to these. This pilot study suggests that occupational allergy and asthma to crustaceans may be at least as serious a problem in Greenlandic workers as in Canadian.

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J. H. Bønløkke, T. Sigsgaard, A. Cartier, K. Maghni, D. Gautrin (Aarhus, Denmark; Montréal, Canada). Snow crab and shrimp asthma and allergy in Greenlandic workers. Eur Respir J 2010; 36: Suppl. 54, 1475

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