ORCID Profile
0000-0001-7834-9390
Current Organisation
Universiteit Utrecht
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Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-2000
DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0274(200005)37:5<459::AID-AJIM2>3.0.CO;2-J
Abstract: Exposure to microbial agents in the composting industry may cause work related airway inflammation. Nasal lavage (NAL) has been proposed as a noninvasive method to assess such effects in population studies. Pre- and post-shift NAL were performed in the workers of a compost plant visited in 1995 (n = 14) and 1996 (n=15), of whom only four participated in both surveys. Total cells, cytokines and other inflammation markers were measured in NAL fluid, and pre-shift levels and post re concentration ratios were compared with NAL results obtained in the same periods in 10 and 9 controls, respectively, and with levels of airborne exposure to microbial agents endotoxin and beta(1,3)-glucan as measured in personal air s les. Job-title specific exposure levels in the first survey ranged from 75 to 527 EU/m(3) for endotoxin and from 0.54 to 4.85 microg/m(3) for beta(1,3)-glucan. In the second survey these values were lower, 29-285 EU/m(3) and 0.36-4.44 microg/m(3), respectively. In the first survey pre-shift NAL concentrations of total cells, MPO, IL-8, NO and albumin were significantly (1.1-4.8 fold) higher in compost workers than in controls. Post re ratios for various markers were significantly (1.2-3.2 fold) higher in compost workers in both surveys. NAL cells were mainly neutrophils, while eosinophils were only incidentally observed. A weak relation with exposure was found for pre-shift levels of MPO, uric acid and urea in the first survey. Occupational exposure of compost workers may cause acute and possibly (sub-)chronic inflammatory reactions in the upper airways, presumably induced by non-allergenic pro-inflammatory agents like endotoxins and beta(1, 3)-glucans.
Publisher: Hindawi Limited
Date: 21-12-2012
DOI: 10.1111/INA.12017
Abstract: Early-life exposure to microbial agents may play a protective role in asthma and allergies development. Geographical differences in the prevalence of these diseases exist, but the differences in early-life indoor microbial agent levels and their determinants have been hardly studied. We aimed to describe the early-life levels of endotoxin, extracellular polysaccharides (EPS), and β(1-3)-glucans in living room dust of four geographically spread European birth cohorts (LISA in Germany, PIAMA in the Netherlands, INMA in Spain, and LUKAS2 in Finland) and to assess their determinants. A total of 1572 dust s les from living rooms of participants were analyzed for endotoxin, Penicillium/Aspergillus EPS, and β(1-3)-glucans. Information on potential determinants was obtained through questionnaires. Concentrations of endotoxin, EPS, and β(1-3)-glucans were different across cohorts. Concentrations of endotoxin and EPS were respectively lower and higher in INMA than in other cohorts, while glucans were higher in LUKAS2. Season of s ling, dog ownership, d ness, and the number of people living at home were significantly associated with concentrations of at least one microbial agent, with heterogeneity of effect estimates of the determinants across cohorts. In conclusion, both early-life microbial exposure levels and exposure determinants differ across cohorts derived from erse European countries. This study adds evidence of variability in the levels of indoor endotoxin, extracellular polysaccharide, and β(1-3)-glucans across four geographically spread European regions. Furthermore, we observed heterogeneity across regions in the effect of exposure determinants. We hypothesize that the variations observed in our study may play a role in the differences in asthma and allergies prevalences across countries.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-12-2009
Publisher: American Society for Microbiology
Date: 19-11-2020
DOI: 10.1128/MRA.01207-20
Abstract: We report seven chicken megrivirus genome sequences identified in chicken fecal s les from a broiler farm in the Netherlands. The sequences were determined using metagenomic sequencing and would expand our understanding of the genome ersity of megriviruses.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-12-2017
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 10-03-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.03.09.434704
Abstract: Farm animals may harbor viral pathogens, some with zoonotic potential which can possibly cause severe clinical outcomes in animals and humans. Documenting the viral content of dust may provide information on the potential sources and movement of viruses. Here, we describe a dust sequencing strategy that provides detailed viral sequence characterization from farm dust s les and use this method to document the virus communities from chicken farm dust s les and paired feces collected from the same broiler farms in the Netherlands. From the sequencing data, Parvoviridae and Picornaviridae were the most frequently found virus families, detected in 85-100% of all fecal and dust s les with a large genomic ersity identified from the Picornaviridae . Sequences from the Caliciviridae and Astroviridae familes were also obtained. This study provides a unique characterization of virus communities in farmed chickens and paired farm dust s les and our sequencing methodology enabled the recovery of viral genome sequences from farm dust, providing important tracking details for virus movement between livestock animals and their farm environment. This study serves as a proof of concept supporting dust s ling to be used in viral metagenomic surveillance.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-2013
Publisher: European Respiratory Society (ERS)
Date: 03-09-2014
DOI: 10.1183/09031936.00060214
Abstract: Inverse associations have been found between exposure to bio-contaminants and asthma and allergies. The aim of this study was to prospectively assess whether early exposure to bio-contaminants in dust is associated with asthma and allergy later in childhood among children from (sub)-urban areas. In subsets of three European birth cohorts (PIAMA: n=553 INMA: n=481 and LISAplus: n=395), endotoxin, (1,3,)-β- d -glucan and extracellular polysaccharide were measured in dust from living rooms shortly after birth. Current asthma at 6 years and 10 years of age and ever asthma up to 10 years of age were assessed by parental questionnaires. Specific IgE levels at 8 years (PIAMA) and 10 years (LISAplus) were available. Adjusted, cohort-specific logistic regression analyses were performed. Higher endotoxin concentrations were positively associated with current asthma at 6 years of age in PIAMA (adjusted OR 1.96, 95% CI 1.07–3.58), but were inversely related with ever asthma up to 10 years of age in INMA (adjusted OR 0.39, 95% CI 0.16–0.94). No associations with asthma were found for LISAplus. No associations were observed with atopic sensitisation in all cohorts. All associations with (1,3)-β- d -glucan and extracellular polysaccharide were statistically nonsignificant. The suggested immunological mechanisms of early exposure to bio-contaminants with regards to asthma and allergy might be different for children growing up in (sub)-urban environments.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-02-2018
DOI: 10.1111/PAI.12861
Abstract: The highly consistent association of growing up on a farm with a reduced asthma risk has so far been attributed to direct farm exposure. In contrast, geographic determinants of the larger environment have never been assessed. In this study, the effects of proximity to farms and environmental variables in relation to the residential address on asthma and atopy were assessed. Addresses of 2265 children of the Bavarian arm of the GABRIELA study were converted into geocodes. Proximity to the nearest cow farm was calculated, and environmental characteristics were derived from satellite data or terrestrial monitoring. Bacterial ersity in mattress dust s les was assessed in 501 children by sequencing of the 16S rRNA licons. Logistic regression models were used to calculate associations between outcomes and exposure variables. Asthma and atopy were inversely associated with the presence of a farm within a radius of maximum 100 m. The environmental variables greenness, tree cover, soil sealing, altitude, air pollution differed not only between farm and non-farm children but also between farm children with and without another farm nearby. The latter distinction revealed strong associations with characteristics of traditional farms including a broader ersity of microbial exposure, which mainly contributed to the protective effect on asthma. In non-farm children, the protective effect of a farm nearby was completely explained by consumption of farm milk. Clustering of farms within a neighborhood of 100 m is strongly associated with the protective effect on asthma and may represent a more traditional style of farming with broader microbial exposure.
No related grants have been discovered for Inge M. Wouters.