Personal exposure to allergenic pollen and mould spores in inland New South Wales, Australia

Background In inland NSW, Australia, allergic sensitization to the fungi Alternaria and Cladosporium and to pollen is common and an important risk factor for asthma. Objective We report the results of a series of experiments designed to assess the nature of personal exposure to these airborne allerg...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical and experimental allergy 2000-12, Vol.30 (12), p.1733-1739
Main Authors: Mitakakis, T. Z., Tovey, E. R., Xuan, W., Marks, G. B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
aeroallergen
Allergens - analysis
Allergic diseases
Alternaria
Ascomycota
Asthma - epidemiology
Asthma - immunology
Australia, New South Wales
Biological and medical sciences
Burkard trap
Child
Cladosporium
Edible Grain
Environmental Exposure - analysis
grass pollen
Humans
Immunologic Techniques
Immunopathology
IOM
Medical sciences
nasal air sampler
New South Wales - epidemiology
personal air sampling
Poaceae
pollen
Pollen - chemistry
Respiratory and ent allergic diseases
Risk Factors
Spores, Fungal - isolation & purification
Tropical medicine
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Summary:Background In inland NSW, Australia, allergic sensitization to the fungi Alternaria and Cladosporium and to pollen is common and an important risk factor for asthma. Objective We report the results of a series of experiments designed to assess the nature of personal exposure to these airborne allergenic particles. We have tested the effect of exposure conditions and level of activity on measurements of the personal exposure. Method Personal Air Samplers (PAS) and Nasal Air Samplers (NAS) were employed. NAS are fitted just inside the nose and collect inhaled particles by impaction, while the PAS use a pump‐operated filter with constant air flow (2 L/min). Thirty‐three subjects (adults and children) used both NAS and PAS simultaneously for four one hour periods during which they performed activities or rested, both inside and outside their homes. Samples were analysed by light microscopy. Alternaria spores, Cladosporium spores, grass pollen and nongrass pollen were counted. Results Both samplers detected substantial variation in exposure between subjects. Between members of the same household, the intrahouse correlation coefficient ranged from
ISSN:0954-7894
1365-2222
DOI:10.1046/j.1365-2222.2000.00966.x