The Gypsy Moth Caterpillar: A Significant New Occupational and Public Health Problem

Seventeen workers in a laboratory where research with the gypsy moth was being performed were subjected to a questionnaire and to skin tests in an attempt to clarify the extent of allergy-like reactions in these workers. Ten of 17 reported dermatologic and/or pulmonary reactions associated with expo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of occupational and environmental medicine 1982-09, Vol.24 (9), p.659-662
Main Authors: Etkind, Paul H., ODell, Thomas M., Canada, Andrew T., Shama, Steven K., Finn, Amy M., Tuthill, Robert
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Dermatitis, Contact - etiology
Dermatitis, Occupational - etiology
Female
Humans
Laboratories
Larva
Lepidoptera - immunology
Lymantria dispar
Male
Middle Aged
Moths - immunology
ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Pest Control
Skin Tests
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Summary:Seventeen workers in a laboratory where research with the gypsy moth was being performed were subjected to a questionnaire and to skin tests in an attempt to clarify the extent of allergy-like reactions in these workers. Ten of 17 reported dermatologic and/or pulmonary reactions associated with exposure to the caterpillar. Of the subjects wi reactions, seven (70%) had reactions to allergens In the past. When all the workers were skin tested with various extracts there was a strong relationship between reactions to the skin tests and clinical symptoms. The documentation of this problem helps to explain the outbreak of cutaneous reactions seen in the general population during the massive gypsy moth outbreak in spring 1981 in the Northeast.
ISSN:0096-1736
1076-2752
2332-3795
DOI:10.1097/00043764-198209000-00011