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Med. Pr. 2004;55(1)

Allergy in the workplace: epidemiological prognoses and perspectives of hygienic prophylaxis

Alergia w miejscu pracy - prognozy epidemiologiczne i perspektywy profilaktyki higienicznej

Cezary Pałczyński Z Kliniki Chorób Zawodowych oraz Ośrodka Alergii Zawodowej i środowiskowej Instytutu Medycyny Pracy im. prof. J. Nofera w Łodzi

Abstract

Asthma and allergy are common among adults of the working age and their prevalence is growing in developed countries. The implementation of an effective surveillance, śsentinelś program, like the British SWORD is required so that public health strategies can be developed for occupational asthma and allergy in Poland. The use of personal dust samplers and specific immunoassays has facilitated the evaluation of exposure-response relationships in workers exposed to high molecular weight sensitizers, e.g.,wheat allergens, fungal α-amylase, laboratory animal allergens. To intro-duce hygiene standards for occupational allergens their standardization is still required, let us hope that this tasks will be very soon accomplished.

Key words

occupational asthma, surveillance program, occupational allergens, hygiene standard