Abstract
The house dust mites have been shown to produce allergens causing atopic aller- gies in human beings, known in medicine as house-dust-mite allergy or house-dust-mite atopy. A survey of dust samples from different indoor places was made to determine the diversity of the acarofauna, especially potential differences in various rooms and/or in- door microhabitats. Twenty seven years of surveys (1981-2008) in the southern part of Poland formed the basis for this analysis. A total of 1289 house dust samples from dwell- ings from 31 localities were studied including samples from beds (or other bedding ac- commodations), non-carpeted floors, carpets, upholstery furniture, wooden furniture, samples from bedrooms, living-rooms, kitchens and ante-rooms. Moreover, other indoor dust samples were studied: 281 from hospitals, 70 from libraries, 31 from research labora- tories, 30 from drug-stores, 57 from offices and other workplaces. The majority of mites were found in samples from the dwellings, especially in dust from couches, sofas and beds. More than 20 astigmatid mite species were found of which the most abundant and common were pyroglyphids, especially Dermatophagoides farinae H , 1961. Der- matophagoides pteronyssinus (T , 1897) was more abundant per gram of dust only in bed mattresses, whereas D. farinae in samples from the remaining indoor places examined. Highest mite densities per gram of dust were noted in dwellings. In hospitals: D. farinae was more frequent in samples from floors than from patients' beds, whereas D. pteronyssinus was collected more frequently from beds than from floors. Main sources of mites in libraries and drug-stores are shelves, desks, upholstery chairs and carpets, whereas in offices carpeted floors and upholstery furniture. This research, has revealed differences in the occurrence and prevalence of various species of domestic mites be- tween geographical areas and between dwellings within the same geographical area, be- tween particular places within the same dwelling, between the seasons of the year and between years and decades.
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