Evidence of allergic hypersensitivity to chironomid midges in an English village community
| Autor: | S. M. McHUGH, P. F. Credland, P. S. Cranston, Rosemary D. Tee |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 1988 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
Veterinary medicine Allergy Immunology Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay Immunoglobulin E Chironomidae Radioallergosorbent Test medicine Respiratory Hypersensitivity Immunology and Allergy Animals Humans Skin Tests Larva biology Incidence (epidemiology) Diptera biology.organism_classification medicine.disease Sting England Midge biology.protein Seasons Nuisance Chironomus anthracinus |
| Zdroj: | Clinical allergy. 18(3) |
| ISSN: | 0009-9090 |
| Popis: | Some chironomid (non-biting) midges contain potent human allergens, principally in the form of insect haemoglobins. In view of previously demonstrated immunological cross-reactivity between some different midge species, the possible role of British midges in allergic disease was studied. The chosen site, Farmoor near Oxford, is a village that has been subject to several annual nuisance midge swarms since the construction of an adjacent water-supply reservoir in 1964, which was extended in 1975. The incidence and severity of hypersensitivity in the community was assessed by questionnaire survey, skin-prick testing, radio-allergosorbent tests (RAST) and RAST inhibition, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and ELISA inhibition, using extracts of locally caught adult midges (Tanytarsus sylvaticus, T. bathophilus and Chironomus anthracinus) and laboratory cultured larvae (C. riparius). These tests revealed a low but significant level of midge-related hypersensitivity with skin-prick results showing seasonal fluctuations, but this seasonality was not confirmed with an IgE RAST. A correlation between IgE levels and relevant symptoms was found (P less than 0.01) using RAST, but not between IgE and skin-test results. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay results did not correlate with any other parameter measured. The incidence and severity of allergic reactions to the midges tested in this community was low. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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