Comparative study of aeropollen and pollinosis cases

Research linking pollen grains in the air with allergy cases (pollinosis) is still incipient in Africa. To close this gap, aerosamplers were placed in Gbagada, Lagos State and harvested monthly from January 2013 to December 2014. Data obtained was correlated with allergy cases (wheezing cough, rhinitis, and allergic conjunctivitis) from Gbagada General Hospital Lagos. Dominant pollen grains recovered were those of Alchornea cordifolia, Amaranthaceae, Casuarina equisetifolia, Cyperaceae, and Poaceae. Pollinosis data revealed that wheezing cough had the highest records in 2013 (1153) and 2014 (1409) while individuals of the age group 15-49 years had the highest number of pollinosis cases for both years. Peak pollen season in 2013 was from October-December; similarly, October, November, and December recorded the highest incidence of wheezing cough (225), rhinitis (21), and allergic conjunctivitis (56) respectively. In 2014, peak pollen season was from October-March while October recorded the highest number of cases of allergic conjunctivitis and rhinitis (81 and 32 respectively) and wheezing cough cases were highest in November (299). Total pollen count had positive significant correlation (p ≤ 0.05) with wheezing cough cases for both years. Individually, each dominant pollen had positive significant correlation (p ≤ 0.05) with wheezing cough cases in 2013 while only Cyperaceae and Poaceae pollen had positive significant correlation (p ≤ 0.05) with wheezing cough in 2014. Continuous collection of aeropollen and pollinosis data from more locations within Nigeria is recommended to provide an appropriate epidemiology of pollinosis cases in the country and ascertain possible responsible pollen grains.