Testing for working environment allergies
The working environment can cause many allergies. Bakers can develop allergies to flour, paint sprayers to a chemical in the paint and factory workers to an enzyme used in detergents. Sometimes it can be hard to pin point which new product has caused the allergy.
Whilst many laboratories offer allergen testing services, they mostly use commercially available assays. This means they may not be geared up to unusual allergies or those due to recently introduced products.
The Occupational and Environmental Medicine group at Imperial are dedicated to researching occupational and environmental lung diseases. Within the group, they run a professional allergen testing laboratory that develops individual assays for each unique case.
Dr Meinir Jones, head of the testing service, says “This testing service has been established for over 30 years and we have experience of working with many different industries. Because we’re also a research department, we are constantly seeking to develop new assays and techniques.”
“Our bespoke service means that we have a number of assays that aren’t available commercially – we’ve tested for allergies to flies, yeast, french beans, flour beetles, even gorilla faeces!” adds Jennifer Welch, Research Technician at the testing lab.
The laboratory offers a more comprehensive service than many because of their close collaboration with clinical colleagues in the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospital. They work with occupational physicians and nurses to see the bigger picture of the individual’s health – their involvement is more than just the results.
And they understand that coping with health issues caused by the working environment can be a stressful and difficult time.
Bread and Beryllium
In addition to their novel allergen testing service, the team provide testing services to a number of industries.
They run a nation-wide surveillance scheme of in-store bakers in two major supermarkets, monitoring their health for possible allergic reactions to the flour and enzymes present in the dough.
Testing for beryllium-induced lung disease is another service provided – the only lab in the UK to do so. The beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test is the only way to determine if symptoms are caused by sarcoidosis or beryllium, a common material in the atomic, dental and electronic industries.
The team also offer an aeroallergen monitoring service for people working in laboratories with animals, to test for allergic reactions to rat and mouse urine.
For more information on the immunological service for the diagnosis of occupational lung disease, please contact us.
