[Pollen counts and allergies in Burgundy: profile and perspectives]

The aim of this study was to assess the situation of pollen counts and epidemiological studies on allergies in Burgundy (France), and to talk about the future prospects of this kind of work. Pollen data came from two Hirst traps set up in Dijon and Chalon-sur-Saône, and the medical data (prick-test results) came from an epidemiological study. Pollen counts showed that Betula, Poaceae and Urticaceae were the first pollens in the air. The frequency of the other taxa varied according to the site, such differences also concerning the year-to-year pollen counts evolution. The epidemiological study showed that Poaceae and Betula were the first involved allergens, with some differences between the two departments as regards the other taxa. The study, taken up again in 2002, will allow to involve more patients, in the whole Burgundy, and to include Ambrosia in the prick-tests. However, results will not be able to be compared to those of pollen counts in the departments of the Yonne and the Nièvre where there is no pollen trap. So three new traps will be set up in 2003 (collaboration DRASS/RNSA) in order to optimise the Burgund network and to be used as an experimental model for the optimisation of the French network, which is now under consideration.