Occupational Asthma Associated with Seafood

 

Clinical features:

(1) The person works with seafood in some capacity.

(2) The person has asthma.

(3) The asthma occurs or becomes worse when the person is working with seafood.

(4) The asthma disappears or improves when the person is away from seafood contact.

(5) The person has positive allergy test to seafood allergen (by skin prick test, serum RAST, other)

 

Risk factors:

(1) aerosolization of allergens in a closed area (high concentration)

(2) employed in seafood processing, packing or cooking

(3) history of atopy

(4) history of smoking

(5) intensity and duration of exposure

(6) type of seafood - crustaceans (shrimp, lobster, prawns) and molluscs (mussels, clams)

 

A person with seafood-related asthma without any of the risk factors should be evaluated for onset of asthma relative to:

(1) seafood ingestion.

(2) exposure to other allergens