[Diagnostic study of 5 cases of allergic asthma due to sensitization to silk allergens in textile workers from the Prato area].

Five cases of allergic asthma due to sensitivity to silk allergens have been studied. All the patients worked in the Prato textile industry. The presence of specific antibodies against extracts of silk has been shown by the direct RAST and confirmed by the indirect RAST. The onset of the symptoms, with regard to the various stages in the processing of silk, leads one to assume that the allergen involved is sericin.