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Dust entry

Poultry dust

Complex airborne mixture from poultry housing, including feed, bedding, droppings, feathers, dander, mites, microorganisms, and endotoxins.

Airborne form

dustmixed

The form describes what is suspended in air at the point of exposure. A material can produce more than one form, such as dust during handling and fume during heating.

Health effects

occupational asthmacoughphlegmshortness of breathwheezingchest tightnessbronchitisflu-like symptomsrhinitisconjunctivitis

Evidence

The UK HSE describes poultry dust as a mixture of feed, bedding, droppings, feathers, dander, mites, microorganisms, and endotoxins; it reports cough, phlegm, shortness of breath, wheezing, chest tightness, bronchitis, flu-like symptoms, and occupational asthma, and identifies poultry dust as capable of causing respiratory disease.

Source: html ↗ · saved source
What is poultry dust?; Respiratory disease; Symptoms; Occupational asthma · 1
Poultry dust is a mixture of bird feed, bedding material ... bird droppings, feathers and dander ... dust mites and storage mites, and micro-organisms such as bacteria, fungi (moulds) and endotoxins ... Workers with occupational respiratory disease may develop permanent breathing problems ... coughing; bringing up phlegm; shortness of breath; wheezing; and chest tightness.

HSE states that poultry dust contains allergens and asthmagens, can cause respiratory disease, and should be controlled using enclosure, ventilation, good work practices, and suitable respiratory protection where needed.

Source: html ↗ · saved source
What is poultry dust?; Control of exposure · 1
The dust, as other agricultural dusts, contains a number of allergens that cause respiratory illness ... Poultry dust is a substance hazardous to health and may contain allergens and asthmagens ... Good control practice includes engineering controls such as enclosure and ventilation.

HSE's statement of evidence reports that poultry workers can encounter substantial organic dust containing grain, mite, poultry, bacterial, and endotoxin components, and that these materials can contribute to asthma and other respiratory disease.

Source: pdf ↗ · saved source
page 2 · Statement of evidence · 2
Poultry workers' exposure to organic dust can be substantial ... Allergic airways response is likely to occur with exposure to dust containing grain, and to allergens from mites and poultry. Bacteria and endotoxins in the dust can also cause respiratory illness.

Controls