The Respiratory Inflammatory Response to the Swine Confinement Building Environment: The Adaptation to Respiratory Exposures in the Chronically Exposed Worker
2003
Swine confinement facility workers often develop respiratory problems secondary
to their work, including the asthma–like syndrome, exacerbation of underlying asthma,
chronic bronchitis, and mucous membrane irritation syndrome. Organic dust toxic syndrome
is seen in these workers as well. Swine confinement barns are characterized by the presence
of multiple factors that can cause respiratory tract and systemic inflammation symptoms,
including dust, endotoxin, and ammonia. Investigators have found evidence of inflammation
characterized by increased numbers of neutrophils, macrophages, and to a lesser degree,
lymphocytes in both naive subjects and swine confinement building workers. Interestingly,
this inflammation is most pronounced in subjects with no prior exposure to this environment.
This finding suggests that adaptation or tolerance to endotoxin or other substances in this
environment is induced by repeated exposures. Interventions have been devised to reduce the
risk of symptomatic respiratory disease from working in a swine confinement facility. The
efficacy of several of these interventions was tested using objective measures of respiratory
tract inflammation. Recent finding suggests that such studies should be done in swine
confinement workers if they appear promising using testing of naive subjects exposed to this
environment.
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