HYPERSENSITIVITY TO POLLEN OF OLEA-EUROPAEA IN ISRAEL

The incidence of skin-tested sensitivity to olive pollen allergens amo ng subjects with suspected atopic respiratory allergy was investigated in various populations of Israelis. This incidence was correlated wit h the olive cultivars, with the abundance of trees in the patients' ne ighborhoods, and with the history of exposure of the studied populatio ns to olive pollen. Positive skin reactions to olive pollen, among ato pic patients of the Jewish population, is rather high where olive tree s are abundant (66%), and lower (29%) where trees are scarce (P < 0.00 3). Sensitization was significantly lower (P < 0.003) among a populati on of Israeli atopic Arabs (16%), though these Arabs have lived in an olive-rich area for several generations.