Natural rubber latex aeroallergen exposure in rubber plantation workers and glove manufacturers in Thailand and health care workers in a UK hospital

Abstract

ObjectivesÐTo estimate personal airborne natural rubber latex (NRL) concentrations for three occupational exposure groups; rubber plantation workers and NRL glove manufacturers in Thailand and health care workers in the UK. To utilise these data to classify the populations into appropriate exposure groups for the exposure-response analysis in the epidemiological study on latex allergy.MethodsÐTwo rubber plantations (110 workers), three NRL glove manufacturing factories (583 workers) in Thailand and one UK hospital (490 workers) were selected for the study. A preliminary workplace survey was carried out at each workplace in order to assign job titles subjectively in to high, moderate or low exposure groups for the purpose of sample selection. Between 5 and 20% of workers from each group for the three populations were then selected randomly for personal measurement of latex airborne allergens. Personal sampling was conducted using a 25 mm PTFE ®lter loaded in to an IOM sampling head at 2 l. min À1 . NRL aeroallergens were measured by an inhibition assay with NRL-speci®c IgE antibodies from NRL-sensitised people.ResultsÐA total of twenty-two personal samples were collected from plantation workers, sixty-one samples from the glove manufacturer employees and twenty seven from health care workers. The highest geometric mean (GM) NRL aeroallergen concentration was found in the glove manufacturing factories (7.3 m mg m ). Amongst the NRL glove factories, the NRL aeroallergen concentrations were highest for those conducting the following tasks; glove stripping, glove inspections and packing of powdered gloves. The GM NRL aeroallergen for these tasks were in the range of 12.9 to 17.8 m mg m À3 . ConclusionsÐIn the process from tapping and manufacture of latex gloves through to their use the highest exposure to NRL aeroallergens is likely to occur in the manufacturing factories. Exposure to aeroallergens for the plantation workers was considered to be moderate and that of health care workers to be low. #

A study of the health profile of rubber plantation workers in rural Kerala

“…Tapas Sadasivan Nair 1 , Suneela Garg 2 , Mongjam Meghachandra Singh 3 1 Resident, 2 Director-Professor, 3 Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India…”

“…The questionnaire was prepared after a rigorous literature review. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] The questions were then assessed for suitability, relevance and accuracy in the Indian context. The interview schedule was pretested on 25 rubber plantation workers from Thekkemala village in Pathanamthitta District of Kerala.…”

“…These working conditions predispose them to a variety of health problems like respiratory, dermatological and musculoskeletal disorders. [2][3][4] The health risks associated are also determined by the length of time exposed, type of work engaged in, the work environment and the personal protective measures employed. In addition to this, they often suffer from various morbidities related to their environment like snake bites, 5 nematode infections 6…”

A Review of Latex Sensitivity Related to the Use of Latex Gloves in Hospitals

“…It is produced in the cytoplasm of lactiferous cells along with amino acids, phospholipids, carbohydrates, and proteins (ie, 2% to 3%) 4 . The essential functional unit of latex consists of cis —1,4‐polyisopropene covered by a layer of lipidic and phos‐pholipidic proteins that ensure its structural integrity 4 , 5 . The proteins present in latex serum are the antigens considered to be responsible for causing type I hypersensitivity to latex.…”

Extractable latex allergens in airborne glove powder and in cut glove pieces

“…The NRL allergen content seems, as a rule, to be higher in powdered gloves than in powder‐free gloves [16]. Importantly, the powdered NRL gloves are also the major contributor to NRL aeroallergen levels in indoor air, and the contents of NRL aeroallergens are highly variable [17–20]. Use of gloves without powder and gloves with low NRL allergen concentration have been recommended [21].…”