Contact dermatitis due to a new fungicide used in the tulip bulb industry.

We describe an outbreak of contact dermatitis in a tulip bulb processing company. Shortly after the introduction of a new pesticide, the fungicide fluazinam, employees started to complain of dermatitis of the arms and the face. 8 employees were investigated and showed positive patch tests to fluazinam. The dermatitis disappeared quickly when they stopped work, but returned as soon they restarted. Subsequent investigations showed that the fungicide had not been used according to the manufacturer's recommendations. Fluazinam was shown to be a strong sensitizer under these circumstances.