Specialty pulmonology ICD-9-CM 495.3 | ICD-10 J67.3 DiseasesDB 29638 | |
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Suberosis, also known as corkhandler's disease or corkworker's lung, is a type of hypersensitivity pneumonitis usually caused by the fungus Penicillium glabrum (formerly called Penicillum frequentans) from exposure to moldy cork dust. Chrysonilia sitophilia, Aspergillus fumigatus, uncontaminated cork dust, and Mucor macedo may also have significant roles in the pathogenesis of the disease.
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Background
Cork is often harvested from the cork oak (Quercus suber) and stored in slabs in a hot and humid environment until covered in mold. Cork workers may be exposed to organic dusts in this process, leading to this disease.
History
Vinte-e-Um Mendes first reported respiratory disease in Portuguese cork workers in 1947 at the Portuguese Medical Reunion. Cancella d'Abreu first described the disease in 1955.