AUTHOR=Viegas Carla , Dias Marta , Pacífico Cátia , Faria Tiago , Clérigo Anália , Brites Hermínia , Caetano Liliana Aranha , Carolino Elisabete , Gomes Anita Quintal , Viegas Susana
TITLE=Portuguese cork industry: filling the knowledge gap regarding occupational exposure to fungi and related health effects
JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health
VOLUME=12
YEAR=2024
URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1355094
DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2024.1355094
ISSN=2296-2565
ABSTRACT=IntroductionThe presence of the Penicillium section Aspergilloides (formerly known as Penicillium glabrum) in the cork industry involves the risk of respiratory diseases such as suberosis.
MethodsThe aim of this study was to corroborate the predominant fungi present in this occupational environment by performing a mycological analysis of 360 workers’ nasal exudates collected by nasal swabs. Additionally, evaluation of respiratory disorders among the cork workers was also performed by spirometry.
ResultsPenicillium section Aspergilloides was detected by qPCR in 37 out of the 360 nasal swabs collected from workers’ samples. From those, 25 remained negative for Penicillium sp. when using culture-based methods. A significant association was found between ventilatory defects and years of work in the cork industry, with those people working for 10 or more years in this industry having an approximately two-fold increased risk of having ventilatory defects compared to those working less time in this setting. Among the workers who detected the presence of Penicillium section Aspergilloides, those with symptoms presented slightly higher average values of CFU.
DiscussionOverall, the results obtained in this study show that working in the cork industry may have adverse effects on worker’s respiratory health. Nevertheless, more studies are needed (e.g., using serological assays) to clarify the impact of each risk factor (fungi and dust) on disease etiology.