Distribution of Dermatophagoides mite (Acari: Pyroglyphidae) antigens in homes of allergic patients in Japan

Abstract

Dust samples collected in 61 homes of patients with mite allergies and 11 homes of non-allergic people as controls were examined for antigen levels of Dermatophagoides farinae Hughes and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Trouessart) to reveal the current distribution of allergenic mites in homes in Japan. Patient homes had higher antigen levels than control homes in comforters and pillows but not in futons, carpets, tatamis and wooden floors. Samples with antigen levels of > or = 10 micrograms m-2 were more frequent in and around summer (approximately April-October) than other seasons of the year in most materials and the differences between patient and control homes in comforters and pillows observed in yearly totals was also observed during this period. Wooden structures showed higher antigen levels than concrete structures in comforters, futons, pillows, carpets and tatamis in patient homes. Mite contamination in patient homes in relation to environmental factors was discussed.

Risk of Acute Asthma Attacks Associated With Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs: A Self-Controlled Case Series

“…It has been previously documented that the peak of asthma onset is in the autumn, which may be explained in part by climate changes, lifestyle changes (start of the new school term), an increase in environmental allergens, or a higher incidence of respiratory infections. 16,17,28 Our results for the seasonal effects on asthma risk corroborated these previous findings. The tendency of increasing risk in autumn was clear for the patients younger than 20 years compared with those aged ≥20 years (Table 5), indicating that younger patients could be likely to be sensitive to such environmental change.…”

The occurrence of mite‐containing wheat flour

“…Since D. farinae is known as a species naturally occurring in Japanese homes (6), it seems likely that the initial mite contamination takes place in most cases at home after the packages have been opened. Two risk factors for mite contamination at homes were confirmed by this study, i.e., (i) storing flour packages in a cupboard and (ii) storing flour packages opened.…”

Relationship between Active and Passive Smoking and Total Serum IgE Levels in Japanese Women: Baseline Data from the Osaka Maternal and Child Health Study

“…Antigen levels were semiquantitatively classified with scores of – (<2 µg/m 2 ), ± (5 µg/m 2 ), + (10– 15 µg/m 2 ) and ++ (>35 µg/m 2 ). The D. farinae antigen detected by this assay is cross-reactive to the equivalent antigen contained in Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, and the antigen level of 10 µg obtained with the reference antigen corresponds to approximately 100 mites of either D. farinae or D. pteronyssinus [19]. In the present study, we used only antigen levels in the sample collected from the bedclothes because the correlation between antigen levels from the bedclothes and flooring was almost collinear (Spearman correlation coefficient = 0.54, p < 0.0001).…”