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A study of 46 cases of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis has been presented with special reference to laboratory aspects. Episodic airways obstruction and dual skin reaction to aspergillin were present in all the cases. Furthermore, there were pulmonary infiltrations in 91.1%, blood eosinophilia in 80.4%, precipitins in 91.3%, and sputum cultures repeatedly positive for A. fumigatus in 82.6% of the patients. It was observed that the multiplicity of precipitin bands corresponded to the higher recovery of A. fumigatus in culture. A. flavus and A. niger were recovered from 58.7 and 80.4% cases of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis respectively but dual skin reactions to these species occurred only in 47.6 and 26.2% and precipitins in 21.7 and 4.3% of cases, respectively. The findings are compatible with the poor allergenic and antigenic properties attributed to these two species in comparison with A. fumigatus. It is suggested that allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis may not be too uncommon in India and it deserves greater attention in the differential diagnosis of chest diseases.

Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) and allergic bronchopulmonary candidiasis (ABPC) has been diagnosed in 20 and 13 cases respectively with one case in common, on the basis of laboratory and clinical findings. Most of the ABPA cases (60%) diagnosed had an early onset of respiratory symptoms, i.e. below the age of 30 years, while most of ABPC cases (69%) had a late onset of respiratory symptoms, i.e. after the age of 30 years. The precipitin bands in ABPA and ABPC were R-type and H-type, respectively. Apparently, ABPA and ABPC are independent of one another in origin as suggested by specific precipitins and dual skin reaction. In ABPA, A. fumigatus appears to be the primary causal organism although the contributory role of other species of Aspergillus, which include A. flavus, A. nidulans, A. terreus and A. niger, is evident from the present study. It is concluded that allergic bronchopulmonary mycoses (ABPM) could be caused by several fungal species independently or jointly belonging to the genera Asperigillus and Candida.

Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis is reported in two (1.5%) of 131 workers occupationally exposed to Aspergillus fumigatus at the U.D. Sugar Mills, Shamli. Twelve of the workers revealed Type I (9.2%) and three (2.8%) Type III skin hypersensitivity against with fungus. Serum preciptins were demonstrated in two out of 44 workers and positive sputum cultures in 26 out of 58 workers. It is suggested that constitutional predisposition of the host may be a more important factor than the extent of exposure to the fungus in the development of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis.