Contact Dermatitis Caused by Pesticides among Banana Plantation Workers in Panama

Abstract

To characterize dermatitis related to pesticide exposures among banana plantation workers in Panama, the authors studied 281 workers seen at The Occupational Health Department of the Social Security Hospital of Changuinola and Puerto Armuelles between 1988-1992 and in 1993. Exposure data were collected through a standardized occupational health history. Physical examination, a standard patch test, and a pesticide patch test (PPT) were carried out. Of the 244 men (86.8%) and 37 women (13.2%), 17 and 37, respectively, were packing station workers. The other 227 men were field workers, exposed to many pesticides (propiconazole, maneb, chlorothalonil, dithane, dalaphon, ametrine; and gramoxone). The 54 packing station workers were exposed to imazalil, thiabendazole, aluminum hydroxide solutions, and formaldehyde. The hands were the most frequently affected areas (82%), followed by the thorax and abdomen (9%), legs and feet (5%), and genital area (4%). There were 78 positive PPTs (27.8%) in 281 patients. The most frequent reactions were to the fungicides chloro-thalonil (51.4%), thiabendazole (12.8%), imazalil (10.2%), and aluminum hydroxide (10.2%), which accounted for 85% of all positive tests. The majority of the cases were related to exposures to fungicides; 246 with negative PPTs were classified as irritant contact dermatitis patients; 48 controls were negatives. Contact dermatitis related to pesticide exposure is a significant occupational health problem for banana workers in Panama.

Pesticide contact dermatitis in agricultural workers of Himachal Pradesh (India)

“…The increasing use of pesticides has been implicated in the increasing incidence of diseases caused by chronic exposure, particularly of the skin, especially among those who neglect the advocated protective measures . Many pesticides used in different parts of the world also vary according to the type of crop and the usage pattern, which keeps changing over time.…”

The Fungicide Chlorothalonil Is Nonlinearly Associated with Corticosterone Levels, Immunity, and Mortality in Amphibians

“…Chlorothalonil exposure was associated with contact dermatitis (Penagos 2002) and DNA damage to leukocytes of farmers 1 day after spraying (Lebailly et al 1997). It can be immunosuppressive to oysters and fish, reducing macrophage viability and function, immunoglobulin M, and expression of proinflammatory cytokines (Baier-Anderson and Anderson 2000; Shelley et al 2009).…”

The Regulatory Evaluation of the Skin Effects of Pesticides

“…Positive patch test reactions to chlorothalonil (0.001% in acetone) were observed in 34 of 39 banana farm workers presented with erythema dyschromicum perstans-like dermatitis. Biopsies from all patients were compatible with a chronic pigmented dermatitis or erythemadyschromicum perstans-like dermatitis (Penagos, 2002;Penagos et al, 1996).…”