Microbial Contamination and Immunologic Reactivity of Stored Oats

Workers in various agricultural environments, from farms to port grain terminals, are exposed to a myriad of respiratory insults during the planting, harvesting, transport, and processing of grains (Donham, 1986). Combined exposures to airborne allergens, toxins, bacteria, fungi, their metabolites and toxins, gases, vapors, and farm chemicals compound the health problems of farm operators and farm workers, many of whom are children and young adults. These types of exposures are not unique to agricultural workers in the United States, but rather, they are global in nature, both in developed and in developing countries.