ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the possibility that a higher potential for malignant and infectious disease exists in laboratory workers and patients exposed to microbial and/or chemical immunodepressive agents. It aims to evaluate potential biohazards of immunodepression on man. It is recognized that one primary function of the immune response is control of microbial infection. Therefore, in those instances in which immune depression of either cellular or humoral immunity is brought about by microbial agents, a favorable prognosis is less likely. The cellular immune response of the host is to some extent thought to be involved in anti-viral, bacterial, and mycotic responses and has an especially active role in tumor cell rejection. Immunodepression by protozoan and metazoan organisms is a newly discovered concern for clinicians, laboratory technicians, and experimental biologists. Hormones are another significant group of natural biological products known to be immunodepressive.
