Animal Induced AsthmaANIMAL INDUCED ASTHMA
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ANIMAL INDUCED ASTHMA Exposure to animals or animal products in the workplace can cause asthma and allergies. Approximately 2 million workers in the U.S. have jobs that require constant contact with animals or animal products.
About 33% of animal handlers have allergic symptoms, and approximately 10% have symptoms of animal induced asthma.
Animals or animal products such as dander, hair, scales, fur, saliva, and body wastes contain powerful allergens that can cause both respiratory and skin disorders.
Workers at risk of animal induced asthma include laboratory animal and veterinary technicians, researchers, veterinarians, and others who have prolonged, close association with animals or their secretions or excretions.
Also at risk are workers who handle animal products or associated materials such as bedding and feed.
The recommendations presented here can help reduce such exposures and prevent animal induced asthma and allergies.
ANIMAL INDUCED ASTHMA - BACKGROUND
How To Eliminate Pet Dander Allergy
Animal related asthma and allergies are exaggerated reactions of the body's immune system to animal proteins, also known as allergens.
Sources of these allergens include animal dander, scales, fur, body wastes, and saliva.
Inhalation is one of the most common ways for allergens to enter the body. After a period of time, be it several months, or even many years, workers may inhale sufficient quantities of allergens to become sensitized.
Symptoms vary among workers who have become sensitized to animals.
Mild reactions include sneezing and runny nose.
More serious reactions to an inhaled allergen may result in asthma symptoms such as cough, chest tightness, wheezing, or shortness of breath.
In sensitized workers, reactions often occur soon after exposure to the animal or animal product, but they may be delayed for 2 to 8 hours or more.
A worker who has developed asthma symptoms from animal allergies often improves or recovers completely if he or she immediately stops being exposed to dusts containing the animal allergens.
However, the longer the exposures continue, the more likely the illness will persist, even after all contact with animals has stopped.
Symptoms from animal induced asthma and allergies can be severe and may require affected workers to change jobs or careers.
Affected workers and their employers must bear the costs for treatment, time lost from work, and temporary or even permanent disability.
ANIMAL INDUCED ASTHMA - COMMON SOURCES OF EXPOSURE
Sources of exposure to animal allergens vary with animal species. For example, the most important allergens have been found in the urine of rats and in the urine, saliva, and pelts of guinea pigs.
Other important sources of allergen exposure include rabbit pelts, cat saliva and dander, dog dander, and horse serum and dander.
Exposures to rats, mice, and rabbits have frequently been associated with the development of occupational asthma.
Species other than mammals have also been reported to cause respiratory symptoms, including various insects, frogs (which are commonly used in science classes) and birds.
A person who becomes allergic to one animal species may react to other species as well. Even a low exposure to these common sources of animal allergens can result in allergies, but the risk increases as the worker's exposure increases.
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TYPES OF ANIMAL HANDLERS AT RISK
All animal handlers appear to be at risk for developing work-related allergy symptoms. However, workers who had symptoms or signs of allergies before they were employed as animal handlers are more likely to develop animal induced asthma.
Studies of workers exposed to animals associate many occupations with an increased risk of asthma and other respiratory symptoms.
These occupations include laboratory animal workers, veterinarians, livestock workers, garment workers, and horse handlers.
Risks associated with some of these occupations are outlined here.
Laboratory Animal Workers Workers are exposed to laboratory animals in the pharmaceutical industry, university laboratories, research units, and animal breeding facilities.
Animal contact occurs during feeding, cleaning, dosing, sacrifice, surgery, and body fluid collection, measurement, and transport through the facilities. Workers are exposed to animal dander, hair, urine, saliva, and tissues.
Animal related allergy is one of the most important health hazards encountered by laboratory animal workers.
Veterinarians and Veterinary Technicians Increased prevalences of asthma, respiratory infections, and obstructive lung disease have been observed in veterinarians. Those who work with large animals seem to have fewer problems with asthma and allergies than those who work with small animals.
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Livestock Workers Rhinitis and occupational asthma are recognized effects of working with livestock such as cattle, hogs, sheep, and goats. Hog producers, particularly those who work in large confinement areas with inadequate ventilation, have been shown to develop wheezing and chronic coughing.
Garment Workers Workers in the garment industry may have allergic reactions to pelts and fur as well as to textiles made from animal products such as wool, cashmere, alpaca, vicuna, and mohair.
Horse Handlers
Horse exposure poses a risk to agricultural workers, mounted law enforcement units, and race track and stable attendants.
HEALTH EFFECTS Exposure to airborne animal allergens may at first result in nasal, eye, and throat irritation as well as skin hives.
As many as 50% of workers with these symptoms go on to develop asthma symptoms such as recurrent episodes of coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, and difficult breathing.
Nasal symptoms usually develop first; occupational asthma without nasal symptoms is uncommon.
Once an individual has become sensitized to animals, allergy symptoms can occur after only a few minutes of exposure, or they may be delayed up to 8 hours or more.
Symptoms of asthma may first appear long after beginning work with animals. Laboratory animal allergy usually develops within 36 months of starting exposure, and most cases develop after 6 to 36 months of exposure.
Animal workers who do not become allergic within 3 years of exposure are less likely to develop the problem after longer exposures.
After exposure is terminated, the nasal and eye symptoms often disappear shortly, but the lung symptoms tend to persist.
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