Airborne birch and oak pollen grains and birch pollen allergens at a common sampling station in Stockholm

Abstract

In the present study, the airborne concentrations of birch and oak pollen grains and birch pollen allergens have been recorded in samples from a common sampling station in Stockholm. The sampling period was between April 22nd and May 31st 2003. The objectives were to evaluate if analysis of allergen particles in parallel with pollen grains would be relevant to aid subjects suffering from pollinosis. Days with low birch pollen counts had relatively high nominal allergen concentrations in the beginning of the sampling period. The birch pollen grain concentration peaks, during the dry pollination culmination interval in the middle of the period, were associated with correspondingly lower nominal concentrations of allergens than grains. At the end of the sampling period very high nominal amounts of allergen appeared, as reflected by high concentrations of oak pollen grains. The high allergen concentrations were obtained as a result of inherent cross‐reactivity of anti‐ Bet v 1 antibodies with Que a antigens, which are immunologically analogous with Bet v 1. Allergen concentrations increased and decreased after light and heavy rain, respectively. Results obtained indicate that adding a pollen count forecast with allergen concentration data should aid pollen allergic subjects to avoid particulate allergens which might be expected to penetrate more easily than pollen grains into indoor environments.