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Occupational accidents and diseases are ancient problems. Occupational asthma was known to Hippocrates and Paracelsus (14931541), and in his book De Morbis Artificium Diatriba, published in 1700, Ramazzini (16331714) described occupational asthma in detail. In modern industrialized countries, numerous natural and synthetic respiratory allergens and irritants frequently occur in high concentrations in the workplace. We know of more than 250 substances that can cause occupational asthma, and the list is expanding. Occupational asthma not only represents a substantial proportion of all cases of asthma but also is one of the main occupational diseases. The unsolved scientific questions concerning the increasing
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