Tampa, Fl -- In the indoor environment, settled dust may contain allergens. The nature, type and contents of these allergens may vary depending on the season and location. The assessment of allergens in a house dust sample is an essential step for allergen-avoidance and provides information essential for allergen-reducing measures, in addition to managing the indoor environment from a health and hygiene point of view. 

Most common allergens in this category include but are not limited to

·         Dust mite (Der p 1, Der f 1P)

·         Cockroach (Bla g 2)

·         Animals (cat (Fel d 1), and dog (Can f 1) etc).

·         Molds

Exposure to these substances, even in small amounts, can trigger allergenic symptoms/disorders. Common symptoms of a house dust allergy include, but are not limited to, sneezing, itchy or watery eyes, nasal congestion and a runny nose. These signs appear as a result of production of immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies in a sensitive individual upon the exposure of dust allergens. In fact, IgE binds to mast cells in the mucosa in eye conjunctiva, nose, throat, and bronchi, and trigger a release of histamine. Histamine causes dilation of vessels in mucosa, and secretion of mucus from mucous glands, resulting in mucosal swelling and mucus secretion, which gives allergenic symptoms.

Successful management of allergies due to house dust is a two-fold approach (i.e. clinical diagnosis of the allergy sufferer and environmental monitoring of the dwelling). The clinical evaluation of a patient includes symptom history, blood tests, IgE levels, evaluation of suspected allergens (skin prick or patch test), etc. where as environmental monitoring reveals the identification and quantification of allergen load in house dust.

The House Dust Allergen (HDA) immunoassay measures the mite allergens Der p 1, Der f 1 and Mite Group 2, animal allergens of cat (Fel d 1), dog (Can f 1), rat (Rat n 1) and mouse (Mus n 1) as well as cockroach (Bla g 2).  MARIA™ provides improved assay performance (increased sensitivity, accuracy and precision) in a high throughput system with substantial time and cost savings. Concentration of identified allergens from indoor dust is reported as µg/gram.

Sample Collection

Environmental bulk/dust samples are acceptable for MARIA™ analysis. Dust samples from the indoor environment are collected in a dust sock (duct collection filter), which is attached to the hose of a vacuum cleaner, against the flow of the air. The suspect area is vacuumed. Then, the dust sock, containing the collected dust, is carefully removed and mailed to the laboratory in a clean and unused zip lock bag along with the completed chain of custody.

Advantage HDA:

·         Multiple allergen tests (up to 8- allergens) in one environmental sample. Significantly

      reduces the sample collection time.

·         More sensitive in comparison to other methods.

·         Use of Universal Allergen Standard generates superior data.

·        Statistically superior results with less variation

House Dust Allergen (HDA) Kit

House Dust Allergen test kits can be purchased from Building Health Check, LLC, 800-422-7873 ext. 404, or visit our online store www.indoorairtest.com.

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About Environmental Diagnostics Laboratory (EDLab):

Alan Wozniak founded Pure Air Control Services, Inc. in 1984 as a small mechanical contracting firm and has since set the industry standard for indoor environmental quality