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Seasonal prevalence of allergenic mites in house dust of Kolkata Metropolis, India

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Abstract

During the past few decades, house dust mites have attracted worldwide interest among medical entomologists and acarologists because of their importance in causing nasobronchial allergic disorders in human beings. House dust mites are present throughout the year; however, their relative densities differ in different seasons and habitats. Because the prevalence of house dust mite allergen is important epidemiologically and clinically, detailed knowledge on the seasonal abundance of important allergenic mites is of great importance for better understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease. In view of this, a systematic survey was carried out on the prevalence of total mites and four common allergenic mites in the city of Kolkata for two consecutive years. Both bed and bedroom floor dust were collected separately from homes inhabited by asthmatic patients situated in different corners of the city on monthly basis from January 2004 to December 2005. The population levels of total mites and four common allergenic mites, namely Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, D. farinae, Austroglycyphagus geniculatus, and Blomia tropicalis separately, were highest during the pre-monsoon period (March–May), irrespective of habitat, whereas densities were low in all cases during winter (December–February). The study indicates that season had the most significant effect on the relative abundance of house dust mites except Dermatophagoides farinae, irrespective of habitat.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the Head, Department of Zoology, University of Calcutta, India, for providing laboratory facilities and also to UGC, New Delhi, India, for providing financial assistance (sanction no. F3-132/2003/SR).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Entomology and Wildlife Biology Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Calcutta, 35 Ballygunge Circular Road, Kolkata, 700019, India

    Sanjoy Podder, Salil Kumar Gupta & Goutam Kumar Saha

  2. Department of Zoology, Darjeeling Government College, Darjeeling, 734101, India

    Sanjoy Podder

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  1. Sanjoy Podder
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  2. Salil Kumar Gupta
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  3. Goutam Kumar Saha
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Correspondence to Goutam Kumar Saha.

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Podder, S., Gupta, S.K. & Saha, G.K. Seasonal prevalence of allergenic mites in house dust of Kolkata Metropolis, India. Aerobiologia 25, 39–47 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-008-9107-1

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