The next major scientific meeting in the field of Respiratory Medicine is the American Thoracic Society’s Annual Conference which is being held in Seattle this year from 16th to 22nd May. We hope to be able to attend provided that the political scene and the emerging problems with SARS do not prevent us.

The programme in Seattle includes a session with 34 posters all related to lymphocyte (one of the white blood cells) function within different body defence reactions which occur in various abnormal conditions. There are 9 presentations (29%) of Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis, of which 5 (15% of the total) are concerned with pigeon related disease.

Our poster presents some of the results from the Blackpool Show of the Year in 2002 and shows that people with active “Pigeon Lung” have evidence of involvement of the large airways with slight airway narrowing which correlates with high levels of lymphocyte activation and responsiveness seen in those with higher levels of circulating antibody to pigeon protein. The acute condition, therefore, involves the larger as well as the small airways and may contribute to the problems of cough and tightness which many fanciers complain of. It extends our other observations that identified rising airflow obstruction with increasing years of avian exposure which we have reported previously.

View the abstract on display here