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Published on: March 3, 2023
Indoor allergen exposure in primary school classrooms in New Zealand
Rob Siebers1, Bernadette Jones2, Lauren Bailey3
1Research Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Otago, Wellington.
Aim:
Indoor allergens exposure is a risk factor for respiratory symptoms in sensitised children. There is limited data on indoor allergen exposures in New Zealand schools.
Methods:
Vacuumed floor dust samples were collected from 136 classrooms in 12 primary schools and analysed for allergens from the house dust mite Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Der p 1), cat dander (Fel d 1), cockroach (Bla g 2), cow dander (Bos d 2), horse dander (Equ c 4) and peanut (Ara h 2) by ELISA.
Results:
House dust mite, cat, cockroach, cow and horse allergens were detected in 96.4%, 100%, 2.2%, 27.0% and 59.9% respectively in the classrooms dust samples. Thirty-one (22.6%) classrooms had Fel d 1 levels of >8.0µg/g while none had Der p 1 levels of >10.0µg/g. Only one classroom had detectable levels of peanut allergen.
Conclusions:
House dust mite allergen levels were low in New Zealand classrooms while about a quarter of classrooms had cat allergen levels that may be associated with respiratory symptoms.
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