Abstract
The 12,000 laboratory animal workers in the UK are at an increased risk of developing laboratory animal allergy (LAA). LAA is an IgE-associated respiratory allergy which occurs when workers become sensitised to airborne animal proteins such as Mus m 1. We have recently embarked on a study to gain a greater understanding of LAA and to determine whether we can devise a code of safe practice to prevent, as far as possible, the future occurrence of LAA.
Aim: To determine personal exposure to Mus m 1 within animal facilities where mice are housed in open cages, individually ventilated cages (IVCs) or mixed cages.
Methods: Selected employees wore Casella Apex pumps for full-shifts or specific tasks (2L/min) to collect inhalable particulate onto fluoropore membrane (1µm), using IOM sampling heads. 335 filters were analysed for Mus m 1 using a commercial sandwich enzyme linked immunoassay (Indoor Biotechnology).
Results:
Conclusion: IVC facilities reduce exposure to Mus m 1. Open and mixed cage facilities have a higher percentage of full-shift samples above 5ng/m3, a figure previously suggested to limit or reduce incidence of LAA (table 1). Exposure to high allergen levels will be influenced by cage type, variation in individual working practices and carrying out of specific 'high-risk' tasks.
- Copyright ©the authors 2016