Abstract
A national surveillance programme of occupational asthma was set up to estimate the incidence and identify the causes of this disorder in Belgium. The programme was based on the voluntary notification of new cases of occupational asthma by chest specialists and occupational physicians during the period 2000-2002. 92% of the reported cases included occupational asthma of an immunological type and 8% bronchial irritability. According to the opinion of the reporting physicians the diagnosis was considered certain in 39%, probable in 29% and possible in 32% of cases. On the basis of these notifications the mean annual incidence of occupational asthma is estimated as 23.5 cases per million workers (95% confidence interval 19.2-28.8). The most frequently incriminated substances were isocyanates (16%), cereals (12%) and latex (10%). At the time of diagnosis 38% of patients had not applied for compensation. The results of this programme of notification of occupational asthma agree with the data available from other countries and provide information complementary to the medico-legal statistics.
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