Anti-allergen antibodies were searched for by an Enzyme Immunoassay in the
sera obtained from 60 patients with a clinical diagnosis of asthma. Allergi
c rhinitis was also present in 28 patients. The diagnosis of asthma was bas
ed on clinical criteria that include history and clinical evidence of airfl
ow obstruction. Ten potential allergens (Bermuda grass, Olive tree, Parieta
ria, Alternaria, Cat hair dander, Dog hair dander, Mite DPT, Mugwort, Birch
tree and Timothy grass) common to the Mediterranean area, were utilized. T
wenty-five of 60 specimens were, seropositive. Mite DPT was the allergen id
entified in 16 of the 25 seropositive specimens. Six of the 25 seropositive
specimens reacted with more than one allergen. This may be due to the exis
tence of similar antigenic determinant groups in the allergens used. There
was no correlation between the occurrence of rhinitis in addition to asthma
on one hand and the identified allergen on the other. Sixteen of the 25 se
ropositive patients were female. This observation is believed to be related
to their occupation. Dog hair dander was identified as the allergen in 1 o
f the 25 seropositive patients. The low figure obtained was expected becaus
e keeping house pets is not a common practice in Lebanon. The 35 seronegati
ve patients may belong to the intrinsic asthma group or the causative aller
gen in each case was not one of the 10 allergens used in this study. These
results indicate that the house dust mite appears to be the most common all
ergen in the Lebanese asthmatic group studied.