MAJOR DERMATOPHAGOIDES MITE ALLERGEN, DER-1, IN SOFT TOYS

Background Allergen avoidance is recommended when treating atopic asth ma. Objectives Soft toys are often kept in close proximity to children and may serve as a source of exposure. Due to the potential danger fr om the mite allergen content of these toys, Der 1 from toys was measur ed. Methods We quantified the level of Der 1 (Der p 1 + Der f 1) in bo th 30 new and 174 old soft toys (weight 216 +/- 2.5 g, height 26.5 +/- 3.4 cm), as well as in washed and in vacuumed soft toys, Dust was col lected using an electric vacuum cleaner. Der 1 was measured by monoclo nal antibody-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (MoAb-ELISA). Res ults In brand new toys Der 1 was 0.1 mu g/g of dust, and in toys used for 1 year, 9.0; 2 year, 22.2; 3 year, 18.9; and more than 4 year, 22. 7 mu g/g of dust. Der 1 in new toys was measured every 4 months for 1 year. Der 1 rapidly increased 10- to 20-fold in the first 4 months, bu t there was no clear seasonal change. In toys washed using a chemical detergent or cleaned using a vacuum cleaner, there was a stastisticall y significant (P < 0.001) decrease in Der 1 in the washed group, but n ot in the vacuumed group. Conclusion These results confirm that mite a llergens accumulate rapidly in toys to form a potentially important so urce of allergens and that washing toys with a chemical detergent is e ffective in the reduction of allergens.