Relationships between airborne fungal spore concentration of Cladosporium and the summer climate at two sites in Britain.

Abstract

Cladosporium conidia have been shown to be important aeroallergens in many regions throughout the world, but annual spore concentrations vary considerably between years. Understanding these annual fluctuations may be of value in the clinical management of allergies. This study investigates the number of days in summer when spore concentration exceeds the allergenic threshold in relation to regional temperature and precipitation at two sites in England and Wales over 27 years. Results indicate that number of days in summer when the Cladosporium spores are above the allergenic concentration is positively correlated with regional temperature and negatively correlated with precipitation for both sites over the study period. Further analysis used a winter North Atlantic Oscillation index to explore the potential for long-range forecasting of the aeroallergen. For both spore measurement sites, a positive correlation exists between the winter North Atlantic Oscillation index and the number of days in summer above the allergenic threshold for Cladosporium spore concentration.