Effect of Floorcovering Construction on Content and Vertical Distribution of House Dust Mite Allergen, Der p I

Domestic floorcoverings often contain appreciable quantities of particulate pollutants, such as house dust mite allergen, Der p I. Exposure to Der p I is a risk factor for the development of mite sensitization and asthma. We investigated whether carpet construction was related to the Der p I content...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of occupational and environmental hygiene 2006-04, Vol.3 (4), p.161-168
Main Authors: Causer, Simon, Shorter, Caroline, Sercombe, Jason
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
aeroallergens
Air Movements
Airborne particulates
Allergens
Allergies
Antigens, Dermatophagoides - analysis
Arthropod Proteins
Carpet industry
carpets
Cysteine Endopeptidases
Der p I
Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus
ELISA
Environmental Monitoring
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Facility Design and Construction
Flooring
Floors and Floorcoverings
Home health care
house dust mites
Indoor air quality
Pyroglyphidae - immunology
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Summary:Domestic floorcoverings often contain appreciable quantities of particulate pollutants, such as house dust mite allergen, Der p I. Exposure to Der p I is a risk factor for the development of mite sensitization and asthma. We investigated whether carpet construction was related to the Der p I content in normal use, and its vertical distribution. We hoped to inform development of methods to remove such material. Along with one hard flooring surface, a range of carpets with differing pile conformations (loop vs. cut), pile heights, yarn twists, and pile densities were placed in houses for 13 months. The carpets were later sectioned to allow profiling of Der p I throughout the pile strata using monoclonal antibody, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Not surprisingly, significantly lower amounts of Der p I were found on hard flooring than any of the carpets, which all contained similar amounts of mite allergen. For all carpets, the Der p I concentration per unit area was found to be inversely related to the distance from the carpet backing. We conclude that carpet construction is not a good predictor of Der p I content in the home. We also suggest that, as carpet construction likely influences ease of disturbance of material within the pile, methods to remove or denature particulate pollutants such as Der p I will be most effective if they are able to target the bulk of allergenic material, found toward the base of the pile.
ISSN:1545-9624
1545-9632
DOI:10.1080/15459620600572068