{"title":"Weather variability in a decade and its current impact on airborne pollen and spores in Nsukka, Nigeria","authors":"D. N. Ezikanyi, Gloria H Sakwari, P. Burt","doi":"10.22587/aeb.2019.13.1.5","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Allergic diseases are triggered or exacerbated by contact or inhalation of pollen, fungal spores, dust mites, insect debris, animal epithelial cells, and some foods and substances [1]. People are exposed throughout life to allergens directly (externally) or after they enter their bodies (by inhalation or ingestion) [2]. Of these, airborne pollen and spores are the most dominant, pervasive, respirable and potent sources of allergen present in the indoor and outdoor atmosphere [3,4]. Pollen and spores allergen belong to Type One hypersensitivity [5]. Their proteins are immune modulatory substances, which play crucial roles in the sensitization and/or exacerbation of allergies such as seasonal allergic rhinitis, eczema/dermatitis, conjunctivitis, rhinoconjuctivitis, asthma, bronchial constriction and obstruction, pollinosis and aspergillosis [6]. It has been clearly demonstrated that exposure to indoor and outdoor airborne fungal spores, hyphal fragments or metabolites can cause a variety of respiratory diseases and also associated with poor control of asthma [7,8,9]. In the 21 st Century, allergic disorders have become a health problem of global significance, affecting all ages and ethnic backgrounds [10]. For the past 40 years the prevalence of asthma has in general increased and is still increasing worldwide in parallel with other indices of allergy [11]. The increase in allergic disorders, such as allergic rhinitis, bronchial asthma and atopic dermatitis covers up to 30 % of the world’s population [12]. About 10–30 % of the world’s population is affected by allergic rhinitis and more than 300 million are affected by asthma [13]. Abstract","PeriodicalId":7250,"journal":{"name":"Advances in Environmental Biology","volume":"65 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2019-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Advances in Environmental Biology","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.22587/aeb.2019.13.1.5","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Allergic diseases are triggered or exacerbated by contact or inhalation of pollen, fungal spores, dust mites, insect debris, animal epithelial cells, and some foods and substances [1]. People are exposed throughout life to allergens directly (externally) or after they enter their bodies (by inhalation or ingestion) [2]. Of these, airborne pollen and spores are the most dominant, pervasive, respirable and potent sources of allergen present in the indoor and outdoor atmosphere [3,4]. Pollen and spores allergen belong to Type One hypersensitivity [5]. Their proteins are immune modulatory substances, which play crucial roles in the sensitization and/or exacerbation of allergies such as seasonal allergic rhinitis, eczema/dermatitis, conjunctivitis, rhinoconjuctivitis, asthma, bronchial constriction and obstruction, pollinosis and aspergillosis [6]. It has been clearly demonstrated that exposure to indoor and outdoor airborne fungal spores, hyphal fragments or metabolites can cause a variety of respiratory diseases and also associated with poor control of asthma [7,8,9]. In the 21 st Century, allergic disorders have become a health problem of global significance, affecting all ages and ethnic backgrounds [10]. For the past 40 years the prevalence of asthma has in general increased and is still increasing worldwide in parallel with other indices of allergy [11]. The increase in allergic disorders, such as allergic rhinitis, bronchial asthma and atopic dermatitis covers up to 30 % of the world’s population [12]. About 10–30 % of the world’s population is affected by allergic rhinitis and more than 300 million are affected by asthma [13]. Abstract