Organic dust exposure induced pulmonary damage among livestock workers

Livestock dust contains immunologically potent substances including allergens, endotoxins, microbial compounds, bacteria, fungi, viruses, pathogenic infectious organisms, particulate matter (PM), various poisonous gases such as ammonia, hydrogen sulphide (H2S), methyl acetate, propanoic acid, heptane etc.It stimulates the immune system through inflammatory and allergenic microbial agents (molds, bacteria, virus and allergens) and microbial-associated molecular patterns (e.g., endotoxin, glucans and peptidoglycans), to result in inflammatory reactions. Farmers are at the risk of developing airway diseases resulting from repeatedly exposures on the livestock farms. There is a paucity of data on in vivo and in vitro cellular and molecular changes following multiple exposures to these livestock contaminants and their long-term impact on the environment as well as human health. The mechanisms of lung dysfunction are still largely unknown. So, there is strong need to look at the combined effect of all the components of livestock dust as stimulatory factors for respiratory hazards. The development of preventive strategies to reduce exposure will be required- in-depth and identification of factors that affect day-to-day variability in exposure.