title: Mite fauna and mite antigen detection in house dust found in residential areas in Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines.
abstract: Dust mites are a medically important group of animals commonly found in carpets and mattresses in houses. Antigens in their feces cause allergic reactions such as asthma and contact dermatitis. Dust samples were vacuum-collected in a special collecting bag from a one square meter area of living room floors of 100 randomly sampled houses in Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines for one minute. Chromato-immunoassay ELISA (Mitey Checker) was used to detect mite antigenicity. Twenty-three species of mites were identified belonging to 7 families. Of these, Blomia tropicalis (265 mites/g of dust in 87% of households) of Family Glycyphagidae and Dermatophagoides farinae (71 mites/g of dust in 58% of households) of Family Pyroglyphidae were the most prevalent and abundant species. Forty-eight percent of households were detected to have low levels of antigen (< or = 5 microg/m2). There was a weak linear relationship between mean total mite intensity and antigen level (r = 0.129). Mean Dermatophagoides intensity and antigen levels were also found to have a weak linear relationship. More mites were found in carpeted living rooms (822 mites/g) when compared to non-carpeted living rooms (645 mites/g). Different floor types did not show any difference in mean mite intensity. Likewise, mite intensity did not show correlation with household size.
authors: Animal Biology Division, Institute of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Philippines.
authors: Ronan Aldous M
authors: RA
authors: Catanghal
authors: Vachel Gay V
authors: VG
authors: Paller
mesh_terms: D000053:Acari / Q000276:immunology; D000818:Animals; D039741:Antigens, Dermatophagoides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000276:immunology; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis* / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D008297:Male; D010679:Philippines / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D039981:Pyroglyphidae
chemical_list: D039741:Antigens, Dermatophagoides; D004391:Dust