Imperial College London
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MrsSusieSchofield

Faculty of Medicine, National Heart & Lung Institute

Medical Statistician
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 7964s.schofield

 
 
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Location

 

G51Emmanuel Kaye BuildingRoyal Brompton Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Feary:2019:10.1183/13993003.00171-2019,
author = {Feary, JR and Schofield, SJ and Canizales, J and Fitzgerald, B and Potts, J and Jones, M and Cullinan, P},
doi = {10.1183/13993003.00171-2019},
journal = {European Respiratory Journal},
title = {Laboratory animal allergy is preventable in modern research facilities},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1183/13993003.00171-2019},
volume = {53},
year = {2019}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - BACKGROUND: Historical data suggest 15% of laboratory animal workers develop IgE sensitisation and 10% symptoms of laboratory animal allergy (LAA), including occupational asthma. Individually ventilated cages (IVC) are replacing conventional open cages; we sought to evaluate their impact on the development of LAA. METHODS: We surveyed 750 laboratory animal workers and measured airborne Mus m 1 (mouse allergen) levels in seven UK institutions. We compared the prevalence of sensitisation to mouse proteins (by specific IgE assay or skin prick test) and of work-related allergic symptoms in IVC-only and open cage units. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Full shift Mus m 1 levels were lower in IVC than open cage units (geometric mean 1.00ng·m-3 (95% confidence interval: 0.73-1.36) versus8.35ng·m-3 (6.97-9.95); p<0.001) but varied eight-fold across the IVC units (GM range: 0.33-4.12ng·m-3). Primary analyses on data from 216 participants with <3years' exposure to mice revealed a lower prevalence of sensitisation in those working in IVC compared with conventional cage units (2.4% (n=2) versus9.8% (n=13); p=0.052). Sensitisation in IVC units varied from 0% to 12.5%; the use of fitted respiratory protection was less common in IVC units where prevalence of sensitisation was higher. Work-related allergy symptoms were more frequently reported by mouse sensitised individuals (46.7% versus 10.9%, p<0.001); and only by those working in open cage units. CONCLUSION: In contemporary practice, LAA is now largely preventable with the use of IVC systems and the judicious use of appropriate respiratory protection.
AU  - Feary,JR
AU  - Schofield,SJ
AU  - Canizales,J
AU  - Fitzgerald,B
AU  - Potts,J
AU  - Jones,M
AU  - Cullinan,P
DO  - 10.1183/13993003.00171-2019
PY  - 2019///
SN  - 0903-1936
TI  - Laboratory animal allergy is preventable in modern research facilities
T2  - European Respiratory Journal
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1183/13993003.00171-2019
UR  - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30956209
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/71115
VL  - 53
ER  -
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