Ar. Ellingson et al., THE PREVALENCE OF DERMATOPHAGOIDES MITE ALLERGEN IN COLORADO HOMES UTILIZING CENTRAL EVAPORATIVE COOLERS, Journal of allergy and clinical immunology, 96(4), 1995, pp. 473-479
Objective: The prevalence of mite allergen was studied in homes in whi
ch the indoor relative humidity may be increased by use of an evaporat
ive cooler. Methods: Colorado homes in which central evaporative coole
rs are used and control homes were evaluated. ELISAs with monoclonal a
ntibodies specific for Der p 1 and Der f 1 were performed on dust samp
les from each home in May and August. Indoor relative humidity and tem
peratures were recorded daily. Results: May samples did not show signi
ficant levels of mite allergen (<2 mu g/gm dust). Of the August sample
s, 48 of 95 samples from homes with evaporative coolers (50.5%) had le
vels of Der p 1 and Der f 1 of 2 mu g/gm dust or greater, but only 5 o
f 95 control samples (5.2%) had levels of 2 mu g/gm dust or greater (p
< 0.00001). Twelve of 19 homes with evaporative coolers (63%) were po
sitive for mite allergen. Five of 19 (26%) control homes were positive
(p < 0.05). The homes with evaporative coolers had average indoor rel
ative humidity of 51% or greater: control homes had average relative h
umidity of less than 45%.Conclusion: Altering the indoor environment b
y raising indoor relative humidity through use of evaporative coolers
lends to conditions that may facilitate Dermatophagoides survival.