Abstract
From November 1966 until December 1967 ten cases of bagassosis were found in the bagasseboard-making factory in Ryukyu Island. One of these cases was fatal. Dyspnea and cough were the usual symptoms. A slight leucocytosis was characteristic. There was a characteristic roentgenograms of the chest which showed a miliary mottling scattered throughout both lungs. The most patients tend to improve spontaneously when they are removed from contact with bagasse and complete recovery may occur over a period of a few months. Workers cutting and trimming the finished boards are scarcely affected.
We found Aspergillus flavipes and Rhizopus both in the bagasse stored outside for several months and in the sputum of workers engaged in breaking or drying machine. The pathogenic role of these fungi was not clear.
It is postulated experimentally and clinically that antigenic substances formed in bagasse may play an important role in the pathogenesis of bagassosis.
