title: Immediate hypersensitivity to Parthenium hysterophorus. II. Clinical studies on the prevalence of Parthenium rhinitis.
abstract: The airborne pollen of the South American weed, Parthenium hysterophorus (American feverfew), accidentally introduced into India was found to be responsible for severe allergic rhinitis. A random clinical survey conducted on 2035 residents of Bangalore city with the aid of questionnaires and skin tests revealed that 7.1% of the study population was suffering from allergic rhinitis due to exposure to Parthenium pollen. Skin-prick tests performed on 1294 clinic patients suffering from nasobronchial allergy during the past 4 years have also shown that 42.5% were sensitive to Parthenium pollen. IgE and IgG antibodies specific for Parthenium pollen allergens were demonstrable in the sera of Parthenium-sensitive rhinitis patients. The specificity of these antibodies to Parthenium allergens was established by ELISA. A 7- to 11-fold higher stimulation was observed when lymphocytes from two Parthenium-sensitive rhinitis patients were treated in vitro with Parthenium pollen extract. To our knowledge, nowhere in the world has such a high incidence of allergic rhinitis due to a single pollen ever been reported.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sriramarao
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nagpal
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Prakash
authors.forename: P V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Rao
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000032:analysis; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008925:Mites / Q000276:immunology; D011058:Pollen / Q000276:immunology*; D015995:Prevalence; D006255:Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D012882:Skin Tests
chemical_list: D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007073:Immunoglobulin E