BREWERS ASTHMA DUE TO MALT CONTAMINATION

We describe a case of a 28 year old brewery worker who developed asthm a whilst grinding malt. Lung function measurements demonstrated deteri oration and improvement in lung function associated with work and abse nce from work. Inhalation challenge with ground malt from the brewery was positive but with ground malt from another source was negative sug gesting a contaminant of the malt was responsible. Culture of the brew ery malt showed heavy contamination with Aspergillus niger, but A. nig er skin test was negative and aspergillus-specific IgG was not detecte d in the patients serum. Removal of the subject from the grinding room resulted in resolution of symptoms and normal lung function. We discu ss the role of A. niger as an aetiological agent for occupational asth ma with reference to the above case.