House Dust Allergen: A Growing Health Concern

Tampa, FL -- What is in typical house dust?  In the indoor environment, settled dust may contain many types of 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)
• Cat (cat (Fel d 1), and
• Dog (Can f 1) etc).

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.
 
Culture (Bioaerosols) or non-culture (spore trap analysis) based methods and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) are often used for enumerating allergens of the indoor environment. However, enzyme immunoassay (ELISA) of air or dust samples has been the gold standard for assessing indoor allergens. ELISA kits have been used for analyzing indoor allergens in house dust for years, although it is costly, time consuming and allergen specific. Immunological assay for the determination of indoor allergens is available which evaluates five to eight most common allergens/sample in house dust. The immunological assay simultaneously measures HouseDust Allergens (HDA) such as 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). Immunological assay provides improved 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 House Dust Allergen (HDA) 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 of HDA: 

• Multiple allergen tests (up to 5 - 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

For more information on the IAQ Screen Check product line contact Cy Garner at 1-800-422-7873   ext 804. Distributors interested in carrying the IAQ Screen Check can also contact Cy Garner or Krynn Stone at 800-422-7873 ext 804 or 404 respectfully.

About Building Health Check LLC (on-line catalog)

Building Health Check sets the industry standard for IAQ DIY kits, testing equipment, and laboratory analysis. Building Health Check has affiliations with EDLab.

Building Health Checks, LLC’s expanding client roster includes: Hunter Fans, WW Grainger, Progressive Insurance, USACE, Southern California Schools JPA, VA Medical Center, Broward General Healthcare, General Services Administration (GSA); Allstate Insurance; Carrier Air Conditioning; and, CB Richard Ellis and many other Fortune 500 companies, school boards, and city, state, and county governments, making Building Health Check, LLC the reliable industry leader in DIY IAQ testing.

For more information on Building Health Check, LLC or EDLab please contact Cy Garner, at 727-572-4550 404 or 804 or visit www.indoorairtest.com