Exposure to mite and cat allergens on a range of clothing items at home and the transfer of cat allergen in the workplace

Background: Clothing has been proposed as an additional source of exposure to mite and cat allergens. Dispersal of allergen into public places has als o been attributed to clothing. Objectives: We sought to study the contribution of various types of clothin g on mite and cat exposure in a domestic environment. Also, we studied the ability of clothing to transfer allergen in a workplace. Methods: Personal exposure to mite and cat allergen from a range of clothin g was measured by using intranasal air samplers in 11 homes. Five categorie s of clothing were tested. Wearing no upper clothing was the sixth category tested to distinguish the contribution of clothing over ambient background exposure. An adhesive tape was used to sample allergen from the surface of clothing, and reservoir dust samples mere also collected. The above techni ques were also used in the work-place to examine the amount of cat allergen transferred from cat owners to non-cat owners. Results: The amount of mite and cat allergen inhaled differed among the clo thing types worn and whether they had been washed recently Wearing a woolen sweater increased personal allergen exposure to cat and mite allergen by a mean of 11 and 10 times, respectively. Clothing items that mere less frequ ently washed carried more allergen whether assessed by vacuuming or sampled with adhesive tape. This corresponded to the amount of allergen inhaled. W e also found that cat levels on non-cat owners' clothing increased signific antly at the end of a working day, which lead to the increase in their pers onal allergen exposure to cat. Conclusions: These studies strongly support the emerging model that persona l clothing is an important source of both mite and cat allergen exposure. T his article also demonstrates the importance of clothing as a means of dist ributing cat allergen into cat-free environments.