Occupational Immunotoxicology

Publication date: 2017
Source:Reference Module in Biomedical Sciences
Author(s): S.E. Anderson, B.J. Meade
Individuals working in a variety of occupational industries and sectors are potentially exposed to biological, chemical, and hazardous agents with dermal and respiratory being the two most common routes of exposure. These exposures can potentially result in numerous diseases and can adversely affect an individual's health and capacity to perform at work resulting in significant economic losses. Occupational immune diseases are some of the most common illnesses that affect workers including inflammation, allergy, respiratory disease, autoimmunity, or other immune modulation resulting in suppression following exposure in the work environment. Due to the complexity of the immune system, the identification of agents that induce immunotoxicity requires specific assays. Various organizations have proposed different approaches to immunotoxicity testing that include validated immune testing protocols that measure diverse immunological biomarkers and endpoints. This chapter provides descriptions of the most commonly recognized occupational immune diseases.



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