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Airway responses in naive subjects to exposure in poultry houses: Comparison between cage rearing system and alternative rearing system for laying hens
Author(s) -
Larsson BrittMarie,
Larsson Kjell,
Malmberg Per,
Mårtensson Lennart,
Palmberg Lena
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0274(199902)35:2<142::aid-ajim6>3.0.co;2-9
Subject(s) - cage , medicine , zoology , methacholine , inflammatory response , proinflammatory cytokine , toxicology , physiology , veterinary medicine , immunology , lung , biology , respiratory disease , inflammation , mathematics , combinatorics
Background Workers in the poultry industry have increased frequencies of respiratory health problems. The aim of the present study was to investigate acute health effects from exposure in poultry houses and to compare the health effects observed in a cage rearing system and the alternative “cage‐less” rearing system for laying hens. Methods Thirty‐four subjects were exposed for 3 hr in confined poultry houses. The subjects were randomized into three groups: one was exposed in a building with a cage rearing system and the two other groups were exposed in buildings with a cage‐less system, with either young hens and fresh bedding material or with older hens and old bedding material. Results Inhalable dust levels were approximately 4 mg/m 3 in the buildings with the cage‐less system and 2 mg/m 3 in the building with cage rearing system; the endotoxin concentration was approximately 100 ng/m 3 in both systems. Bronchial responsiveness to methacholine increased approximately fivefold in all groups following exposure. The concentration of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) increased in nasal lavage fluid and in peripheral blood as a result of the exposure. The number of leukocytes in peripheral blood increased only in the groups exposed among loose laying hens. Conclusion In the present study, we have demonstrated among previously non‐exposed subjects, that 3‐hr exposure in confined buildings for egg production induces an acute inflammatory reaction in the upper airways and increased bronchial responsiveness. There is a tendency towards stronger reactions in the groups exposed in the buildings with loose housing for laying hens. Am. J. Ind. Med. 35:142–149, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.