Occupational hypersensitivity pneumonitis in a Japanese citrus farmer

Abstract

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) sometimes develops in people working in specific environments. We herein report a case of occupation-related HP in a citrus farmer in Japan. A 66-year-old man developed a fever, dyspnea, and general malaise in March after working near a trash dump filled with moldy tangerines. He presented with leukocytosis, bilateral lung opacities on chest radiographs, and intra-alveolar and interstitial lymphocytic inflammation with fibrotic change on a lung biopsy. His symptoms disappeared after admission and recurred on a revisit to the workplace. Fungal culture and a mycobiome analysis using next-generation sequencing suggested an association with exposure to Penicillium digitatum.