Recent trends inbagassosis inJapan

Theonlyworkerspresently exposed tobagasse dustinJapanaretheemployeesofsugar refineries andlacquerware factories. A follow upstudyofsixformercasesofbagassosis from amongtheretired employees ofapaperboard factory, closed since1973, showedthatnoneof thesubjects still hadbagassosis. Examinations of70employees ofasugarrefinery forallergic reactions alsoshowedno caseofbagassosis. Sevencaseswithsuspicious shadowsofbagassosis onchestradiographs andfourcaseswith positive serum precipitin tostoredbagasse were,however, foundamongthose70subjects. Theresults showthedisappearance ofa past episode ofbagassosis andthepossibility ofa new occurrenceof bagassosis among the employees ofsugarrefineries andlacquerware factories inthenearfuture inJapan.