Long-term trends and regional variation in the aeroallergen Alternaria in Cardiff and Derby UK – are differences in climate and cereal production having an effect?

Crop harvest in Denmark and Central Europe contributes to the local load of airborne <i>Alternaria</i> spore concentrations in Copenhagen

“…In our map of potential source areas, western Denmark has a considerably higher proportion of potential source areas than eastern Denmark. Similar relationships have previously been suggested by Corden et al (2003), as Corden et al (2003) found a high Alternaria spore load in Derby with high agricultural production and a low annual spore load at the coastal site in Cardiff, which had very limited cereal production. Also in southern Poland, results from the operational trap in Rzeszow were compared with results from a rural trap 10 km away (Kasprzyk and Worek, 2006).…”

“…This suggests that decomposition of tree leaves does not contribute to the overall Alternaria load in Northern and Central Europe. In the UK, agricultural areas near Cardiff and Derby have been suggested as potential sources of high Alternaria concentrations (Corden et al, 2003), and studies from northern Portugal and Poland have shown that rural areas have a higher load of Alternaria than nearby urban areas (Oliveira et al, 2009). Wheat harvesting has previously been shown to release large numbers of spores into the air (Friesen et al, 2001), exposing harvesters to large amounts of viable fungi (Hill et al, 1984).…”

Airborne allergenic fungal spores and meteorological factors in Greece: Forecasting possibilities

“…In the first occasion, we believe this differentiation is due to the annual cyclic phenomena of Alternaria spores' liberation and dispersion, whereas in Cladosporium the cause is the location of spore sources (extensive crop production areas are found to the south-west and grasses as lower vegetation at a neighbouring forest to the north-east). Similar incidents have been documented by other researchers as well (Kurkela, 1997;Corden & Millington, 2001;Mitakakis et al 2001;Munuera Giner et al 2001, Troutt & Levetin, 2001Corden et al 2003;Pepeljnjak & Segvic, 2003).…”

“…A large proportion of the above variability is due to the proximity and abundance of the source of fungal spore and the geobotanical characteristics of each studied region. Many authors indicate that airborne fungal spore levels are dependent on crop production and proximity of grassland areas (Solomon, 1978;Mitakakis et al 2001;Corden et al 2003;Pepeljnjak & Segvic, 2003).…”

Atmospheric concentrations of Alternaria, Cladosporium, Ganoderma and Didymella spores monitored in Cork (Ireland) and Worcester (England) during the summer of 2010

“…For example, monitoring campaigns for ambient Cladosporium concentrations and also the fungal genus, Ganoderma, have been carried out throughout the country (Sreeramulu 1963;Lewis et al 2000;Hollins et al 2004). Furthermore, related studies have highlighted the significance of Alternaria, in conjunction with other primary biological aerosol particles (PBAP), for the exacerbation of symptoms in asthma sufferers (Langenberg et al 1977;Corden et al 2003). However, very few studies have focused on the diurnal variation of the spores, although these variations can be very large and therefore relevant with respect to exposure.…”