The Medical Research Team presented some of their new work at the American Thoracic Society Meeting at Atlanta in May 2002. Being the most valuable scientific meeting for Lung Research in the world, it is a time when many research workers and clinical doctors interested in lung problems meet to discuss all aspects of lung disease and the current areas of lung research. This year was highly successful and provided the research team with the opportunity to discuss their work and results with other experts in their research area in order to exchange information and also judge how beneficial and relevant their research was.

A poster was presented entitled “The Impact of Avian-zoonoses on the Development of Pigeon Breeder’s Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis”.

The photograph shows Dr. Boyd (Research Director) and Dr. Ismail (Department of Respiratory Medicine, Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow) in front of the poster. This piece of work demonstrated that pigeon fanciers had extensive evidence of avian acquired infection and that they showed an increased level of Chlamydial infection compared to the normal population although this was not due to Psittacosis. It had been known for some years that pigeon fanciers who are sensitised to bloom show evidence of increased levels of response to different respiratory viruses. This is a non-specific reaction and is one effect that occurs when pigeon lung develops. It is important to make sure that the symptoms of Pigeon Lung are not confused with an acute viral illness as a result of this particular reaction. Tuberculosis, and in particular avian types of TB are not related or influenced by the Pigeon Lung reaction. There is another important reaction which can occur when people breathe in organic dust - such as happens when in a pigeon loft. There is a substance called endo-toxin which causes a feverish reaction when breathed in which occurs in droppings and in other organic dusts which mimics the type of reaction causing Pigeon Lung. This research exercise has shown that despite extensive exposure to endotoxin-rich excreta in the loft environment there is no evidence of a reaction to this in the blood and no evidence that antibody reactions to other infections such as tetanus are altered. Overall, therefore, the raised levels of antibody reaction to pigeon bloom are linked to inflammatory changes in the lung which results in Pigeon Lung and other avian related conditions do not interfere with this.

Dr. Boyd found it a great pleasure to once again meet with Professor Yasuyuki Yoshizawa from the Pulmonary Medicine Department of the Tokyo Medical and Dental University. They have met at previous American Thoracic Society meetings and exchanged ideas for a number of years now. He has a continuing interest in the immunological reactions which occur in Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis and in Pigeon Lung in particular. This year he and his junior colleague, Dr. M Furuive, presented their poster describing laboratory based work where they examined one of the important inflammatory markers which occurs in Pigeon Lung. They showed that this particular substance was produced when human monocytes (cells which are involved in body defence reactions) were cultured with extracts of pigeon droppings. This was a clear demonstration that pigeon protein (Antigen) can cause an acute inflammatory immunological reaction and it has confirmed some of observations of our team that were reported at the American Thoracic Society previously, that this type of inflammatory marker is found in fanciers with Pigeon Lung. There was a real excitement, in viewing experimental data from the other side of the world which linked well into the information that has been accumulating slowly over the years from annual trips to Blackpool made by our team. It has also provided an important stimulus for BPFMR to continue to explore the constituent parts that make up the reaction found in Pigeon Lung.

A collaborative study is being planned, to review the problems of pigeon hypersensitivity as they occur in Japan and in the UK.