Aspergillus hazardous problem in ceramic workers

• Published in: Toxicology and industrial health Vol. 28; no. 10; pp. 886 - 893
• Main Authors: Saad-Hussein, Amal, Morcos, Nadia Y S, Rizk, Sanaa A, Ibrahim, Khadiga S, El-Zaher, Naglaa Abd, Moubarz, Gehan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.11.2012; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Adult; Antibodies, Fungal - blood; Aspergillosis - blood; Aspergillosis - etiology; Aspergillosis - immunology; Aspergillosis - microbiology; Aspergillus; Aspergillus - genetics; Aspergillus - immunology; Aspergillus - isolation & purification; Aspergillus flavus; Ceramics; Ceramics industry; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Cross-Sectional Studies; DNA, Fungal - analysis; DNA, Fungal - isolation & purification; Fungi; Humans; Immunoglobulin E - blood; Infections; Male; Middle Aged; Occupational Diseases - blood; Occupational Diseases - microbiology; Occupational exposure; Occupational Exposure - analysis; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Research centers; Respiratory function; Silica; Sputum - chemistry; Sputum - microbiology; Statistical analysis; Statistics, Nonparametric; Toxicology; Egypt; Ceramic workers; Aspergillus flavus; specific IgE; Aspergillus fumigatus; Aspergillus niger; PCR
• ISSN: 0748-2337; 1477-0393; 1477-0393
• DOI: 10.1177/0748233711425077

Ceramic workers are at a high risk of developing respiratory problems as they are exposed to high levels of respirable dust containing silica and high microbial counts, including high Aspergillus counts. The aim of the study was to study the percentage of ceramic workers with positive Aspergillus (A.) through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and specific IgE (sIgE) for the different Aspergillus species. PCR and specific IgE (sIgE) for the different Aspergillus species (A. flavus, A. fumigatus and A. niger) were estimated in 40 ceramic workers and 56 control subjects. Results revealed that 32.5% of the workers’ sputum was PCR positive for Aspergillus. About 69.2% of them were A. flavus positive, 15.4% A. niger positive, 7.7% A. fumigatus positive and 7.7% A. flavus and A. fumigatus positive. The percentage change in sIgE for A. fumigatus between the workers and their controls was over 100%, while less than 50% for the other two species. The sIgE levels for the three Aspergillus species were not significantly correlated with the duration of exposure. Fungal exposure could be considered potential hazardous problem in ceramic industry. There were no significant correlations between the duration of exposure and the sIgE for the different Aspergillus species.