Contact dermatitis in tobacco farmworkers.
Occupational skin disease is highly prevalent among agricultural workers. Tobacco cultivation and harvest are particularly hazardous for farmworkers. We report 5 migrant Latino farmworkers in North Carolina with contact dermatitis related to tobacco work. These cases show a characteristic distribution of contact dermatitis; the flexural and medial surfaces of the upper extremities were affected in each case, whereas most cases showed some involvement of the torso and axilla. This pattern most likely reflects a common occupational practice of holding the tobacco leaves under the arm and pressed against the body during harvesting.
Abraham
Nina F
NF
Center for Dermatology Research, Elm City, NC 27822, USA.
Feldman
Steven R
SR
Vallejos
Quirina
Q
Whalley
Lara E
LE
Brooks
Thanh
T
Cabral
Gonzalo
G
Earp
Patricia
P
Fleischer
Alan B
AB
Quandt
Sara A
SA
Arcury
Thomas A
TA
D000328:Adult; D000382:Agricultural Workers' Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D003877:Dermatitis, Contact / Q000209:etiology*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009657:North Carolina; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010328:Patch Tests; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014171:Transients and Migrants