House dust mites and their allergens at selected locations in the homes of house dust mite-allergic XXXX .

@entity1 @entity3881 @entity17869 @entity56 @entity6711
BACKGROUND: Knowledge of the occurrence of @entity6711 ( @entity6711 ) and their allergens in domestic locations is important when planning intervention. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe the distribution of HDMs and their allergens before intervention in multiple locations in the homes of newly diagnosed @entity56 @entity1 with a known high @entity17869 concentration in their mattress dust. METHODS: Dust was collected from ten locations in the homes of eight @entity56 @entity1 . Dust was analysed for allergen content with ELISAs for Der f 1, Der @entity3881 ; and @entity6711 were counted. Total allergen concentrations ( micro g @entity17869 dust) were expressed as the sum of Der f 1, Der @entity3881 . RESULTS: On mattresses the median concentration was 86 micro g @entity17869 dust (range 30-288) and 188 mites/g dust (range 12-1910). @entity17869 exceeded 10 micro g/g dust in mattresses (8/8), duvets/pillows (3/8), a bedroom carpet (1/1), a living room carpet (1/6), upholstered furniture (2/8) and a curtain (1/5). Uncarpeted floors, upholstered furniture, bookshelves and walls had significantly lower @entity17869 concentration than the mattresses. The relative contribution of Der @entity3881 , Der f 1 or Der m 1 to @entity17869 was related to homes, rather than to the location. Der m 1 only occurred in minute amounts. CONCLUSION: For @entity6711 intervention, our results indicate that priority should be given to the removal of allergens from mattresses, and in addition from carpets, duvets/pillows and upholstered furniture. Dust from walls, uncarpeted floors, bookshelves and curtains appear to contribute insignificantly to the domestic @entity6711 allergen load.
