Pollen allergy: Developing multi-sectorial strategies for its prevention and control in lower and middle-income countries.

Abstract

Pollen allergy is considered a major public health problem that causes morbidity and subsequently affects a patient's quality of life. Pollen due to their large size cannot enter the thoracic regions of the respiratory tract but can affect the nasopharyngeal mucous membrane. At the same time, the submicronic-pollen particles can act as respirable particles reaching deeper into the upper airways leading to exacerbation of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other allergic reactions. Based on the existing literature, expanding evidence shows that climate change and air pollutants could affect the pollen number, morphology, season, allergen content, and distribution pattern. Hence, this will influence the prevalence and occurrence of allergies linked to pollen exposure. Being a part of biogenic pollutants, pollen allergens are not expected to diminish in the foreseeable future. Therefore, it is imperative that steps need to be strengthened to improve and optimize preventive/adaptive strategies. This paper aims to review the major causes of widespread allergy, identify the major gaps, and suggest key preventive/adaptive measures to address the onset and exacerbation of pollen-related allergic diseases with a major focus on lower and middle-income countries. The study also discusses how-to implement the prevention and control measures at the individual, health care communities and organizations, Local Governments, National/International Governments levels to decrease the risk of illnesses associated with pollen allergy.