Abstract
Purpose. To survey the species diversity of home dust mites (HDM) in Xishuangbanna, a tropical rainforest region in Southwest China. Methods. From August 2010 to January 2011, mite-allergic patients and healthy controls were invited to participate. Dust samples from the patients' homes were collected, and mites in the samples were isolated. Permanent slides were prepared for morphologically based species determination. Results. In total, 6316 mite specimens of morphologically identifiable species were found in 233 dust samples taken from 41 homes. The result shows that the mite family of Pyroglyphidae occupied the highest percentage of the total amount of mites collected, followed by Cheyletidae family. The most common adult Pyroglyphidae mites were Dermatophagoides (D.) farinae, D. pteronyssinus, and D. siboney. The most common mites found from other families were Blomia tropicalis, Tyrophagus putrescentiae, and Aleuroglyphus ovatus. Four main allergenic dust mite species D. farinae, D. pteronyssinus, D. siboney, and Blomia tropicalis were found to be coinhabiting in 6/41 homes. Conclusion. The HDM population in homes in Xishuangbanna, a tropical rainforest region in Southwest China, has its own characteristics. It has rich dust mite species and the dust mite densities do not show significant variation across seasons.
Highlights
Approximately 10 million Chinese children suffer from asthma and about 50 million Chinese adults have allergic rhinitis [1,2,3,4,5,6]
Home dust mites have been considered as the major source of allergen and more than 50% of allergic diseases in clinics are attributed to them [8]
The present results confirm that home dust mites exist in Xishuangbanna area
Summary
Approximately 10 million Chinese children suffer from asthma and about 50 million Chinese adults have allergic rhinitis [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Various kinds of allergens can lead to allergic diseases. It is evident that the predominant allergenic mite species differ across diverse regions of China [10,11,12,13]. In Northern China region (Beijing), the predominant species were D. farinae, D. pteronyssinus, and D. siboney. In Southern China region (Guangzhou), the predominant species were D. pteronyssinus, D. farinae, and B. freemani. In Guangxi province, a subtropical region in Southern China, the predominant species were D. farina and D. pteronyssinus. These surveys of the distribution of domestic mites in China have been conducted mostly in the densely populated and highly industrialized central cities of China. Wide use of air-conditioner in industrialized cities may be related to growth of dust mites
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