Airborne Pollen Reached Severe Levels During the Spring Season in an Underserved Community with High Asthma rates in Jacksonville Florida

Abstract

Duval County, Florida is divided into 6 Health Zones. The most urban is Health Zone 1 (HZN1) of which 75% of its 109,314 residents are African Americans. It has the highest rate of asthma related hospitalization of the 6 health zones. During Spring 2013, we showed significant elevation of serum IgE from 200 random residents of the community of which 14% had levels greater than 10,000 ng/ml. Pollen inhalation is a risk factor for allergic conditions. Therefore, we hypothesized that pollen is a contributing factor for the elevated levels of IgE and the high rate of asthma in HZN1.