Reported Cases and Diagnostics of Occupational Insect Allergy: A Systematic Review
A significant part of adult-onset asthma is caused by occupational exposure to both high- and low-molecular-mass agents. Insects are occasionally described to cause occupational allergy in professions including anglers and fishers, laboratory workers, employees of aquaculture companies, farmers, bak...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/1/86 |
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| author | Eva Ganseman Mieke Gouwy Dominique M. A. Bullens Christine Breynaert Rik Schrijvers Paul Proost |
| author_facet | Eva Ganseman Mieke Gouwy Dominique M. A. Bullens Christine Breynaert Rik Schrijvers Paul Proost |
| author_sort | Eva Ganseman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A significant part of adult-onset asthma is caused by occupational exposure to both high- and low-molecular-mass agents. Insects are occasionally described to cause occupational allergy in professions including anglers and fishers, laboratory workers, employees of aquaculture companies, farmers, bakers, sericulture workers and pet shop workers. Occupational insect allergies are often respiratory, causing asthma or rhinoconjunctivitis, but can be cutaneous as well. The European Union recently approved three insect species for human consumption, enabling an industry to develop where more employees could be exposed to insect products. This review overviews knowledge on occupational insect allergy risks and the tools used to diagnose employees. Despite the limited availability of commercial occupational insect allergy diagnostics, 60.9% of 164 included reports used skin prick tests and 63.4% of reports used specific IgE tests. In 21.9% of reports, a more elaborate diagnosis of occupational asthma was made by specific inhalation challenges or peak expiratory flow measurements at the workplace. In some work environments, 57% of employees were sensitized, and no less than 60% of employees reported work-related symptoms. Further development and optimization of specific diagnostics, together with strong primary prevention, may be vital to the health conditions of workers in the developing insect industry. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:00:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9c5d658c4a494ff5a749458bf5e0556c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:00:01Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-9c5d658c4a494ff5a749458bf5e0556c2023-11-16T15:29:11ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672022-12-012418610.3390/ijms24010086Reported Cases and Diagnostics of Occupational Insect Allergy: A Systematic ReviewEva Ganseman0Mieke Gouwy1Dominique M. A. Bullens2Christine Breynaert3Rik Schrijvers4Paul Proost5Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, Research Group Immunity and Inflammation, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, BelgiumLaboratory of Molecular Immunology, Research Group Immunity and Inflammation, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, BelgiumAllergy and Clinical Immunology Research Group, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, BelgiumAllergy and Clinical Immunology Research Group, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, BelgiumAllergy and Clinical Immunology Research Group, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, BelgiumLaboratory of Molecular Immunology, Research Group Immunity and Inflammation, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, BelgiumA significant part of adult-onset asthma is caused by occupational exposure to both high- and low-molecular-mass agents. Insects are occasionally described to cause occupational allergy in professions including anglers and fishers, laboratory workers, employees of aquaculture companies, farmers, bakers, sericulture workers and pet shop workers. Occupational insect allergies are often respiratory, causing asthma or rhinoconjunctivitis, but can be cutaneous as well. The European Union recently approved three insect species for human consumption, enabling an industry to develop where more employees could be exposed to insect products. This review overviews knowledge on occupational insect allergy risks and the tools used to diagnose employees. Despite the limited availability of commercial occupational insect allergy diagnostics, 60.9% of 164 included reports used skin prick tests and 63.4% of reports used specific IgE tests. In 21.9% of reports, a more elaborate diagnosis of occupational asthma was made by specific inhalation challenges or peak expiratory flow measurements at the workplace. In some work environments, 57% of employees were sensitized, and no less than 60% of employees reported work-related symptoms. Further development and optimization of specific diagnostics, together with strong primary prevention, may be vital to the health conditions of workers in the developing insect industry.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/1/86insectsoccupationalallergyasthmarhinitis |
| spellingShingle | Eva Ganseman Mieke Gouwy Dominique M. A. Bullens Christine Breynaert Rik Schrijvers Paul Proost Reported Cases and Diagnostics of Occupational Insect Allergy: A Systematic Review International Journal of Molecular Sciences insects occupational allergy asthma rhinitis |
| title | Reported Cases and Diagnostics of Occupational Insect Allergy: A Systematic Review |
| title_full | Reported Cases and Diagnostics of Occupational Insect Allergy: A Systematic Review |
| title_fullStr | Reported Cases and Diagnostics of Occupational Insect Allergy: A Systematic Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reported Cases and Diagnostics of Occupational Insect Allergy: A Systematic Review |
| title_short | Reported Cases and Diagnostics of Occupational Insect Allergy: A Systematic Review |
| title_sort | reported cases and diagnostics of occupational insect allergy a systematic review |
| topic | insects occupational allergy asthma rhinitis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/1/86 |
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