Identification and exclusion of susceptible workers seem to be inefficient, particularly when the marker of susceptibility (e.g., atopy) is PRN1371 datasheet prevalent in the general population. Such surveillance

programs aimed at early identification may help to initiate suitable protective strategies such as use of a breathing mask or similar technical equipment (e.g., allergen-proof working clothes) for all tasks. The type of breathing mask should be selected according to the individual working Selleck Stattic environment. This could help minimize the contact of the airways and the skin with the allergens, especially in individuals with known atopic predisposition. In summary, our experiments are the first to present test results of a self-prepared cattle allergen mix that was designed to represent the full spectrum of cattle allergens present in a typical agricultural workplace. Additional tests with self-made cattle hair extracts can help to bridge the diagnostic gap seen in patients showing cattle-related symptoms, but negative results in tests using commercially available extracts. A suitable prevention strategy to identify the population at risk of cattle allergy could include screening for

sensitizations against ubiquitous allergens, which we found in the samples AZD1390 mouse of almost all cattle-sensitized claw trimmers. In selected groups, e.g., when screening for sensitizations at an early old stage, we propose to choose a lower cutoff level of 0.2 kU/l with commercially available allergen extracts. Acknowledgments We are grateful for all the support that we received in the course of our study. We would like to thank in particular Dietrich Landmann (Echem, Germany) and the claw trimmer unions, Anke Seeckts, Petra Tucholla and Bianca Rohland (Göttingen, Germany) for technical support in immunoblotting. Conflict of interest The authors declare

that they have no conflict of interest. Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited. References Danuser B, Weber C, Künzli N, Schindler C, Nowak D (2001) Respiratory symptoms in Swiss farmers: an epidemiological study of risk factors. Am J Ind Med 39(4):410–418CrossRef Fuchs E, Gronemeyer W, Bandilla K (1981) Reibtest und Tierhaarallergie, zugleich ein klinischer Beitrag zum Problem der „Rassespezifität“. Allergologie 4:241–248 Greskevitch M, Kullman G, Bang KM, Mazurek JM (2007) Respiratory disease in agricultural workers: mortality and morbidity statistics. J Agromed 12(3):5–10CrossRef Heutelbeck AR, Janicke N, Hilgers R, Kütting B, Drexler H, Hallier E, Bickeböller H (2007) German cattle allergy study (CAS): public health relevance of cattle-allergic farmers.