Risk of exposure to house dust mites and other arthropods in three Upper Silesian hospitals
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Abstract
The house dust mites (HDM) have been shown to produce allergens causing atopic allergies in human beings, known in medicine as house-dust-mite allergy. A survey of dust samples from three Upper Silesian hospitals located in Katowice was made to determine the occurrence, number and species of mites and other arthropods. A total of 60 samples were examined, always from two sites – floor and patient’s mattresses. Arthropods were present in 41 samples (68.3% of all samples examined). Mites (203 ones) were isolated from 39 samples (65%). The most abundant arthropods were members of the family Pyroglyphidae (HDM), which formed 99.01% of total mite count and 95.71% of all arthropods collected. Among them, Dermatophagoides farinae (DF) was predominant (approx. 65% of all mites collected), followed by D. pteronyssinus (DP) (30.5%). Moreover, single specimens of gamasid and oribatid mites and six ones of book lice (psocids, allergenic insects) were isolated. A mean number of mites per 1 gram of dust from hospitals was 24.3 ±35.0 (range 0.0–180.0), whereas mean values of indoor relative humidity and temperature were 53.9%RH and 22.7°C, respectively. DF was distinctly more abundant per 1 gram of dust than DP, whereas alive mites were more numerous in populations of the second species. Populations of both species were dominated by adult mites. The density of mites was influenced mainly by the type of mattress, number of patients and relative humidity. The research has revealed differences in the occurrence and abundance of both species of HDM between hospitals examined and between particular places within the same hospital. Moreover, the study suggests that HDM and other arthropods, including also some allergenic taxa, should be considered as occupational risk factors contributing to the occurrence of respiratory and dermal diseases among patients and different workers of hospitals. Most probably, HDM are introduced into hospitals by humans from their houses and/or flats.
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