Hypersensitivity pneumonitis is a pulmonary disease with symptoms of cough and dyspnea resulting from the inhalation of an antigen to which the subject has been previously sensitized,such as microbes,animal or plant proteins and certain chemicals that form haptens.The radiologic findings include diffuse ground-glass opacification,small centrilobular nodules,air trapping,fibrosis and emphysema.Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid reveals a lymphocyte alveolitis with CD4/CD8 decrease.The histopathologic process consists of chronic inflammation of the bronchi and peribronchiolar tissue,often with poorly defined granulomas.The diagnosis usually rests on a variable combination of findings from history,clinical manifestation,radiography,serology,bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and lung biopsy.Treatment includes avoiding the allergen and systemic corticosteroids.The long-term prognosis is usually good.

Key words: 
Hypersensitivity pneumonitis; Etiology; Clinical presentation; Diagnosis; Treatment

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis

Respiratory Health Effects of Exposure to Cleaning Products.

Microbial-based cleaning products as a potential risk to human health: A review.

The use of conventional chemical disinfectants is a common practice in built environments and has drastically increased in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While effective for instantaneous disinfection, the application of chemical disinfectants to indoor surfaces is associated with recontamination and is prone to select for antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. In contrast, probiotic-based sanitation (PBS) relies on the premise that probiotic bacteria, namely apathogenic Bacillus spp., when combined with eco-friendly detergents and applied to indoor surfaces can outcompete and exclude pathogens. Recent in situ studies assessing PBS in healthcare settings have demonstrated overwhelmingly positive results, including significant reductions in pathogen burden, antimicrobial-resistant genes and nosocomial infections, yet these studies are limited in duration and scope. Here, we review results of Bacillus-based PBS in practice, identify knowledge gaps and discuss the considerations for the widespread use of PBS in built environments. In a time when indoor cleaning and disinfection has come to the forefront, PBS may offer an attractive, effective and sustainable alternative to conventional chemical disinfectants.

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Probiotic-Based Sanitation in the Built Environment—An Alternative to Chemical Disinfectants

Foreign proteins are potentially immunogenic, and a proportion of these are able to induce immune responses that result in allergic sensitization. Subsequent exposure of sensitized subjects to the inducing protein can provoke a variety of allergic reactions that may be severe, or even fatal. It has therefore been recognized for some time that it is important to determine a priori whether a given protein has the potential to induce allergic responses in exposed subjects. For example, the need to assess whether transgene products expressed in genetically engineered crop plants have allergenic properties. This is not necessarily a straightforward exercise (as discussed elsewhere in this edition), but the task becomes even more challenging when there is a need to conduct an overall allergenicity safety assessment of complex mixtures of proteins in botanicals or other natural sources that are to be used in consumer products. This paper describes a new paradigm for the allergenicity safety assessment of proteins that is based on the use of AllerCatPro 2.0, a new version of a previously described web application model developed for the characterization of the allergenic potential of proteins. Operational aspects of AllerCatPro 2.0 are described with emphasis on the application of new features that provide improvements in the predictions of allergenic properties such as the identification of proteins with high allergenic concern. Furthermore, the paper provides a description of strategies of how AllerCatPro 2.0 can best be deployed as a screening tool for identifying suitable proteins as ingredients in consumer products as well as a tool, in conjunction with label-free proteomic analysis, for identifying and semiquantifying protein allergens in complex materials. Lastly, the paper discusses the steps that are recommended for formal allergenicity safety assessment of novel consumer products which contain proteins, including consideration and integration of predicted consumer exposure metrics. The article therefore provides a holistic perspective of the processes through which effective protein safety assessments can be made of potential allergenic hazards and risks associated with exposure to proteins in consumer products, with a particular focus on the use of AllerCatPro 2.0 for this purpose.

Robert Testman

Papers

Safety assessment of the use of Bacillus-based cleaning products.