Fatal Asthma from Powdering Shark Cartilage and Review of Fatal Occupational Asthma Literature

Details

• Personal Author:
  Kreiss, Kathleen ; Ortega, Hector G. ; Schill, Donald P. ; Weissman, David N.
• Description:
  Work-related asthma (WRA) is the most common work-associated respiratory disease in developed countries. We report shark cartilage dust as a new potential cause of occupational asthma (OA) in the context of other fatal OA case reports. A 38-year-old white male worked for 8 years in a facility which primarily granulated and powdered various plastics. Sixteen months prior to his death, the plant began grinding shark cartilage. After 10 months of exposure, he reported chest symptoms at work in association with exposure to shark cartilage dust and a physician diagnosed asthma. Six months later, he complained of shortness of breath at work and died from autopsy-confirmed asthma. The latency from onset of exposure to symptoms and from symptom onset to death was shorter than 10 previously reported OA fatalities. Recognition of occupational causes and triggers of asthma and removal of affected individuals from these exposures is critical and can prevent progression to irreversible or even fatal asthma. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Asthma Asthma, Occupational Dust Environmental Health Hypersensitivity Irritants Lung Mortality Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Occupational Asthma Breathing Breathing-atmospheres Breathing-zone Bronchial-asthma Dust-exposure Dusts Environmental-factors Exposure-levels Fatal Asthma Mortality-data Occupational-exposure Occupational-respiratory-disease Pulmonary-function Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiratory-irritants Respiratory-system-disorders Sensitization Shark Cartilage Work-environment Worker-health Work Exposure

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New Jersey ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  50-54
• Volume:
  42
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20022210
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2002 Jul; 42(1):50-54
• Contact Point Address:
  David N.Weissman, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HELD/ASB/Mailstop L-4218, 1095Willowdale Rd.,Morgantown,WV 26505
• Email:
  DWeissman@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2002
• NORA Priority Area:
  Disease and Injury: Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
• Performing Organization:
  New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19920930
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20060929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c44c3517fc5e39db68aea4cfd08b8290192c53d28a2706eccfe492e7f6bcecc627a693632a044db7956295a2a80966ab73dec785cf5cbdf0fd908a0db12362e8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/199070/cdc_199070_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 78.49 KB ]