[MCOH-EH] [EXTERNAL] Allergen testing

[Jakub Furmaga]

Thank you for the responses. AAALAC did not ask for allergen testing, they just asked what respiratory protection we were providing to our animal care workers. Unfortunately, as part of the report we included some measured allergen concentrations which prompted questions about how the testing was done, and what reference numbers we used (I know, we totally walked into that one). We did not have great answers which is why I wanted to see what everyone else is doing. JakubOn Apr 3, 2023, at 7:05 PM, hudson.warner at gmail.com wrote:While at UCLA we did have the campus CIH do a study of the animal lab areasto see where the highest levels of rat and mouse protein in air were found,really to guide improvements in use of better practices to reduce saidantigen exposure not to look at the levels as a cutoff although some were atthe old level of well above 5ng/cubic meter by a lot; cage changing and cagewashing areas.   The rest were well below. I understand the 5 ng level is nolonger considered to be a threshold and never had solid data behind it tobegin with; so while lower seems better; there may not be a no sensitizinglevel or dose but this was but 10 years ago when we did this study and itdid result in improvements in those areas identified. Warner-----Original Message-----From: MCOH-EH <mcoh-eh-bounces at mylist.net> On Behalf Of Swift, Melanie D.,M.D., M.P.H. via MCOH-EHSent: Monday, April 3, 2023 7:27 AMTo: MCOH-EH <mcoh-eh at mylist.net>Cc: Swift, Melanie D., M.D., M.P.H. <Swift.Melanie at mayo.edu>Subject: Re: [MCOH-EH] [EXTERNAL] Allergen testingJakub,Our safety colleagues recently looked into this and did a fairly deep dive.My understanding is that air sampling for animal allergens is really not yetready for practice, but is more of a research tool at this point. Specialequipment is required and there are no standards or norms, so it would be alittle like doing air quality testing for mold spores without having anoutdoor control or comparison test. You can do particulate sampling as aproxy of sorts, which is more standard and I think there are some referencevalues for dust levels.Out of curiosity, who is asking you to do air sampling for allergens? IfAAALAC is starting to request this, I'd be concerned about the potentialimpact of that for other institutions.Best,Melanie-----Original Message-----From: MCOH-EH <mcoh-eh-bounces at mylist.net> On Behalf Of Jakub Furmaga viaMCOH-EHSent: Wednesday, March 29, 2023 2:30 PMTo: mcoh-eh at mylist.netCc: Jakub Furmaga <jfurmaga at me.com>Subject: [EXTERNAL] [MCOH-EH] Allergen testingI work at a large academic medical center that has several animal researchlabs. We were recently asked to do allergen air testing/monitoring, andwanted to see if anyone here has experience with this. If so, whichallergens do you test and what concentrations do you use. Thank you. JakubJakub Furmaga, MDFaculty in Medical Toxicology Medical Director of Occupational HealthUT Southwestern---------------------------------------The MCOH-EH List has always been moderated by members of the ACOEM MedicalCenter Occupational Health Section. 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It is currently moderated by Joe Fanucchi MD FACOEM.List membership is free, but only subscribers may post to the list.To post send messages to: mcoh-eh at mylist.netTo become a subscriber, or to change your subscription options (turn off email while you're on vacation, etc):   http://www.mcoh-eh.netMediTrax / Occupational Health Systems, Inc. provides financial support to ensure the list remains a free resource for the occupational health community.---------------------------------------List archives (public): http://mylist.net/archives/mcoh-eh/---------------------------------------Send administrative requests to: drjoe at meditrax.com---------------------------------------When replying to a message, PLEASE delete all footers, and all messages to which you're NOT replying.
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