Asthma caused by African maple (Triplochiton scleroxylon) wood dust.

Inhalation of wood dusts can cause immediate and/or late onset asthma, and the list of woods responsible for such reactions is increasing. We report two patients with asthma induced by exposure to the dust of African maple wood (Triplochiton scleroxylon). Type I hypersensitivity to this dust was demonstrated by means of immediate skin test reactivity, positive passive transfer test, positive reverse enzyme immunoassay for specific IgE, and an immediate bronchial provocation test response to an African maple-dust extract. Unexposed persons did not exhibit reactivity to this wood in any of the tests listed above.