Læknablaðið - 15.11.2008, Síða 15

FRÆÐIGREINAR
RANNSÓKNIR
2. Munir AKM. Mite sensitization in the Scandinavian
countries and factors influencing exposure levels. Allergy
1998; 53(Suppl. 48): 64-70.
3. Porsbjerg C, Linstow ML, Nepper-Christensen SC, et al.
Allergen sensitization and allergen exposure in Greenlander
Inuits residing in Denmark and Greenland. Respir Med 2002;
96: 736-55.
4. Mehl R. Occurrence of mites in Norway and the rest of
Scandinavia. Allergy 1998; 53(Suppl. 48): 28-35.
5. Gíslason D, Björnsson E, Gíslason Þ, et al. Sensitization
to airbome and food allergens in Reykjavik (Iceland) and
Uppsala (Sweden) - A comparative study. Allergy 1999; 54:
1160-7.
6. Hallas TE, Gislason D, Björnsdottir US, et al. Sensitization
to house dust mites in Reykjavik, Iceland, in the absence of
domestic exposure to mites. Allergy 2004; 59: 515-9.
7. Zock J-P, Heinrich J, Jarvis D, et al. Distribution and
determinants of house dust mite allergens in Europe: The
European Community Respiratory Health Survey II. J
Allergy Clin Immunol 2006; 118: 682-90.
8. Aðalsteinsdóttir B, Sigurðardóttir ST, Gíslason Þ, Kristensen
B, Gíslason D. What characterizes house dust mite sensitive
individuals in a house dust mite free community in
Reykjavik, Iceland? Allergol Int 2007; 56: 51-6.
9. Hallas TE. Mites of stored hay in Iceland. J Agr Res Icel 1981;
13: 61-7.
10. Hughes M. Mites of stored food and houses. HMSO
(London), 1976
11. Proctor H; Owens I. 2000. Mites and birds: Diversity,
parasitism and coevolution. TREE (Elsevier) 2000; 15: 358-
64.
12. Schram-Bijkerk D, Doekes G, Boeve M, et al. Nonlinear
relations between house dust mite allergen levels and mite
sensitization in farm and nonfarm children. Allergy 2006; 61:
640-7.
13. Luczynska CM, Griffin P, Davies RJ, Topping MD. Prevalence
of specific IgE to storage mites (A. siro, L. destmctor and T.
longior) in an urban population and cross-reactivity with
house dust mite Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus. Clin Exp
Allergy 1990; 20: 403-6.
14. Sidenius KE, Hallas TE, Poulsen LK, Mosbech H.
Allergen cross-reactivity between house-dust mites and
other invertebrates. Allergy 2001; 56: 723-33.
15. Gíslason D, Gravesen S, Ásmundsson T, Magnússon V.
Bráðaofnæmi í tveimur landbúnaðarhémðum á íslandi. I.
Tíðni bráðaofnæmis og helstu ofnæmisvaldar. Læknablaðið
1988; 74: 303-8.
16. Kasuga S, Amano H. Influence of temperature on the life
history parameters of Tyrophagus similis Volgin (Acari:
Acaridae). Appl Entomol Zool 2000; 35: 237-44.
17. Hallas TE, Guðleifsson BE. Life cycles of Penthaleus major
(Dugés)(Acari, Prostigmata) in hayfields in northem Iceland.
Icel Agric Sci 2004; 16-17: 39-44.
GuðmundssonG, Sigurðarson SÞ, Tómasson K, Gíslason D, Hallas T
House Dust Mites at lcelandic Farms
Background: Sensitization to Dermatophagoides
pteronyssinus (D. pteronyssinus) occurs in 9% of the
Reykjavik population, despite the fact that no Der p
1 antigen has been found in the area. A recent study
revealed that sensitized persons more often had a
childhood history of work or holiday stay in rural areas
than controls. As a follow up we studied the risk of
exposure to mites in farmland dwellings.
Methods: In a survey of work-related lung disorders
among farmers in the south and west of lceland, 80
samples of house dust, representing 42 farms, were
collected from bedroom mattresses and the floors in living
rooms and examined for mites. Treatment of samples was
identical with the method used earlier in the Reykjavik
investigation (ECRHS II).
Results: In contrast to the Reykjavik results, dust
from farm dwellings showed a large diversity of mites.
Seventeen taxons were found, with Acarus siro and D.
pteronyssinus in 13 and 8 farms respectively, but the
samples did not show signs that any of the taxons actually
had lived or reproduced where they were collected.
Conclusion: The finding of D. pteronyssinus in farmland
dwellings provides a possible explanation of why some
Reykjavik citizens might have developed sensitization
to this mite, even though cross sensitization to other
species of mites could give a false positive reaction to
D. pteronyssinus in at least some of those cases. Our
observations did not support the idea that the mites
were living in the dwellings and an explanation for their
occurrence must be sought in the outdoor environment.
>-
cc
<
2
5
D
w
X
w
ö
z
111
Key words: Farming, House dust, Exposure, Allergy, Mites, lceland.
Correspondence: Gunnar Guðmundsson, ggudmund@landspitali.is
Barst: 2. ágúst 2008, - samþykkt til birtingar: 13. október 2008.
LÆKNAblaðið 2008/94 727