QUALITY OF HOUSING AND ALLERGY TO COCKROACHES IN THE DOMINICAN-REPUBLIC

Fifty-one atopic asthmatic and/or allergic rhinitic children and 23 no natopic control from Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic, were skin tested with an extract mix of three cockroach species (Blattella germa nica, Blatta orientalis, and Periplaneta americana). Sixteen percent o f the atopics and none of the nonatopics demonstrated positive immedia te skin reactions to the cockroach mix (chi(2) = 4.05, p = 0.04). Hype rsensitivity was correlated with the quality of the homes; 22% (8/36) of the atopics who lived in a concrete home were skin test positive to the cockroach mix, while none (0/15) of the atopics who lived in a wo od home were skin test positive (chi(2) = 4.86, p = 0.03). Although th e incidence of cockroach allergy in this study is lower than that foun d elsewhere, these data support the notion that, in this tropical envi ronment, sensitization to cockroaches is associated with housing quali ty.