Prevalence Of Skin Test Reactivity Research Articles

Extraction and Purification of the Potential Allergen Proteins from Botryotinia Fuckeliana

An allergy is a disease in which the immune system makes an inflammatory response to a harmless antigen. Any antigen that causes an allergy is called an allergen. Allergens may be inhaled or ingested, or they may come into contact with the skin. According to the data of the World Allergy Organization (WAO), the prevalence of allergies in different countries varies between 10-40%. Pollen, mold, animal hair, house dust mite, medicines, and foods are the most common allergen agents. Common mushrooms in nature have the potential to produce allergenic proteins. Penicillium,Botryotinia, Aspergillus, Rhizopus, and Mucor species, which are allergic fungi, are widely found in nature. In recent years, the cases of allergies caused by molds have increased significantly and studies to determine the causing allergens have accelerated. Botryotinia fuckeliana Pers. is a cosmopolitan necrotrophic pathogen infecting more than 200 plant species in temperate and subtropical climates, some of which are of high economic importance (e.g., grapes, strawberries, solanaceous vegetable). In Europe, maximal spore counts occur during late summer. Prevalence of skin test reactivity, i.e., immediate wheal and flare, to B. cinerea in Europe is comparable to that of Aspergillus spp. and greater than that of Cladosporium and Penicillium spp. Since the prevalence of B. fuckeliana spores and skin test reactivity is significant, further characterization of these allergens is warranted. Botryotinia fuckeliana was used in our study. Botryotinia fuckeliana produced in our laboratory was collected and allergen fungus protein was extracted by 2 different extraction methods. By preparing protein samples from prepared mushroom extracts, the total concentration of potential allergen proteins was determined by the BCA method. According to the data obtained, it was determined that the protein concentration of the mushroom samples dried by that were subjected to dialysis was higher than ethanol.

Extraction and Purification of the Potential Allergen Proteins from Botryotinia Fuckeliana

An allergy is a disease in which the immune system makes an inflammatory response to a harmless antigen. Any antigen that causes an allergy is called an allergen. Allergens may be inhaled or ingested, or they may come into contact with the skin. According to the data of the World Allergy Organization (WAO), the prevalence of allergies in different countries varies between 10-40%. Pollen, mold, animal hair, house dust mite, medicines, and foods are the most common allergen agents. Common mushrooms in nature have the potential to produce allergenic proteins. Penicillium,Botryotinia, Aspergillus, Rhizopus, and Mucor species, which are allergic fungi, are widely found in nature. In recent years, the cases of allergies caused by molds have increased significantly and studies to determine the causing allergens have accelerated. Botryotinia fuckeliana Pers. is a cosmopolitan necrotrophic pathogen infecting more than 200 plant species in temperate and subtropical climates, some of which are of high economic importance (e.g., grapes, strawberries, solanaceous vegetable). In Europe, maximal spore counts occur during late summer. Prevalence of skin test reactivity, i.e., immediate wheal and flare, to B. cinerea in Europe is comparable to that of Aspergillus spp. and greater than that of Cladosporium and Penicillium spp. Since the prevalence of B. fuckeliana spores and skin test reactivity is significant, further characterization of these allergens is warranted. Botryotinia fuckeliana was used in our study. Botryotinia fuckeliana produced in our laboratory was collected and allergen fungus protein was extracted by 2 different extraction methods. By preparing protein samples from prepared mushroom extracts, the total concentration of potential allergen proteins was determined by the BCA method. According to the data obtained, it was determined that the protein concentration of the mushroom samples dried by that were subjected to dialysis was higher than ethanol.

SKIN TEST REACTIVITY TO BEE HIVE PRODUCTS (HONEY BEES, HONEY, ROYAL JELLY AND POLLEN)

Bee hive products such as honey bees, honey, royal jelly and pollen are widely consumed as a health supplement. There has been several cases of allergic reactions to bee hive products reported worldwide. Consumption of bee hive products is common among Malaysians, but the degree of its sensitization is not known. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of skin test reactivity to Apis mellifera, domesticated locally and the bee hive products such as honey bees, honey, royal jelly and pollen among a group of volunteers. Four types of honey collected from different locations with different plant sources; one sample of imported honey from Australia, one sample of royal jelly, four different sources of bee pollen, and honey bee derivatives were used to prepare allergen extracts for skin testing. 2522 volunteers were skin tested to these allergen extracts. 271 (10.75%) of the subjects had a positive skin prick test result to at least one honey bee derivative or bee hive product allergen. Individuals with skin test positivity to honey bee are most likely to be sensitized to bee pollen followed by honey and royal jelly. Skin test reactivity to honey bee and bee hive products is prevailed to be high in Malaysia. This study has proven that bee hive products sensitization individuals are mostly to be also sensitized to honey bees. Therefore, is recommended these allergens to be included in the skin prick panel

Prevalence of skin test reactivity to aeroallergens in the Pakistani population

The prevalence of allergies has increased in all parts of the world. The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of sensitivity to common aeroallergens, pollen, thresher dust and cotton dust, in Pakistan. Retrospective cohort study. Record of 65067 who attended the Allergy Centre, National Institute of Health, Islamabad, Pakistan from January 2007 to August 2008 was retrieved. Subjects that were skin prick test (SPT) negative and those that were SPT positive to aeroallergens were extracted and subcategorized on the basis of the 8 provinces of Pakistan, including, Islamabad Capital Territory, Punjab, Baluchistan, Sindh, Northern Areas, Kashmir, North Western Frontier Province (NWFP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Monthly analysis of prevalence of allergies was also determined. Of the total, 68.6% were SPT positive. The highest number of affected individuals was from the Punjab region (41%). The highest number of cases of all aeroallergens was reported in the month of August (3532, 13.7%). Significant high correlations were observed between mixed pollen, thresher dust and raw cotton and allergic rhinitis, asthma, uriticaria and allergic conjunctivitis. There was no significant correlation between allergen sensitivity and atopic edema. A high prevalence of sensitivity to aeroallergens is observed in the Punjab Province of Pakistan.

Relationship between Different Species of Helminths and Atopy: A Study in a Population Living in Helminth-Endemic Area in Sulawesi, Indonesia

Background: The association between allergen skin sensitization and helminth infection has been debated for years. Here, we sought to estimate the prevalence of atopic sensitization of residents living in area endemic for lymphatic filariasis and intestinal helminths and to investigate the association between these different species of helminths with allergen skin test reactivity to allergens. Methods: Five hundred and eighty-three individuals living in an area endemic for Brugia malayi and for intestinal helminths were skin prick tested using 3 allergens. Microfilariae were enumerated by filtration of 1 ml nocturnally collected blood, and 442 stool samples were examined for the presence of intestinal helminth eggs. Results: The prevalence of skin prick test positivity to any allergen was 23.5% (to cockroach 20.6%, to house dust mite 6.2% and to grass pollen 1.2%). Individuals with B. malayi infection had a significantly reduced risk for atopic reactivity to cockroach (adjusted odds ratio 0.56, 95% CI 0.35–0.88). In the same population, no association was found between the presence of intestinal helminths and any skin test reactivity. Conclusions: In a general population, across all ages in a rural area of Indonesia, the prevalence of skin test reactivity to house dust mite is as low as in other non-affluent countries, and infection with B. malayi appears to reduce the risk of skin reactivity to cockroach. On the other hand, we found no association between infection with intestinal helminths and skin test reactivity to aeroallergens.

Sensitization to tomato peel and pulp extracts in the Mediterranean Coast of Spain: prevalence and co‐sensitization with aeroallergens

Tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum) are consumed world-wide. The prevalence of sensitization to tomatoes remains unknown. To determine the prevalence of skin test reactivity to tomato and to describe the characteristics of tomato-sensitized subjects. Individuals attending for the first time during the period of the study to six Allergy centres, located along the Mediterranean coast of Spain, reporting respiratory and/or cutaneous symptoms, were included. All patients were skin prick tested with a battery of inhalant allergens and with peel and pulp of Canary tomato extracts. The study included 1734 individuals (757 males, 977 females; 31.9+/-17.8 years old). The prevalence of sensitization to tomato was 6.52% (113 patients; 65 males, 48 females; 29.5+/-13 years old). The peel extract was positive in 110 patients and the pulp extract in 47 patients; three patients were positive exclusively to pulp. Only 1.8% of individuals reported symptoms with tomato; 44% of them had skin test negative to both extracts. Among tomato-sensitized subjects, 16% reported symptoms with tomato, 97% were sensitized to inhalant aeroallergens, including 84% to pollens (mainly Artemisia vulgaris and Platanus hybrida), with differences between Northern and Southern centres. The prevalence found of skin test sensitivity to tomato is high. Peel extracts detected most of the sensitized subjects. Most of the sensitized subjects were asymptomatic and some patients reported symptoms without skin test sensitivity. Positive subjects were very frequently sensitized to pollens, suggesting allergen cross-reactivity. Regional differences may exist, possibly related to the pattern of sensitization to cross-reacting pollens.

Skin test reactivity to aeroallergens in Jamaicans: relationship to asthma

Asthma causes significant morbidity and mortality in the developing world. It is thus important to identify modifiable risk factors. To undertake a cross-sectional study to determine the prevalence of skin test reactivity to aeroallergens in Jamaican children and adults and the relationship of the diagnosis of asthma to the pattern of skin test positivity. One hundred and sixty subjects without the sickle cell gene (genotype AA), eighty adults and eighty children, were recruited. Skin testing to seven aeroallergens was undertaken (atopy being diagnosed if there were at least one positive reaction). Asthma status was determined by a questionnaire and/or medical records. Twenty-seven (34%) of the children and forty-one (51%) of the adults were skin test positive to at least one aeroallergen. The most common positive responses in both age groups were to Dermatophagoides farinae, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and cockroach mix-(German and American). All adult asthmatics with current symptoms reacted to cockroach allergen. Appropriate steps to reduce cockroaches and cockroach sensitization might positively impact on asthma morbidity in Jamaica.

Prevalence of Skin Test Reactivity to Tomato Peel and Pulp Extracts in the Mediterranean Coast of Spain

Prevalence of Skin Test Reactivity to Tomato Peel and Pulp Extracts in the Mediterranean Coast of Spain

Allergic symptoms, atopy, and geohelminth infections in a rural area of Ecuador.

Geohelminth infections may affect the expression of allergic disease. To investigate the relationship between geohelminth infections, atopy, and symptoms of allergic disease, we studied 4433 schoolchildren from 71 schools in a rural tropical area in Ecuador. Information was collected on allergic symptoms, allergen skin test reactivity, and presence of geohelminth infections. Allergic symptoms were of low prevalence (2.1% had recent wheeze), but prevalence of skin test reactivity was relatively high (18.2%). The presence of geohelminth infections was protective against allergen skin test reactivity (odds ratio 0.62, 95% confidence interval 0.50-0.76, p < 0.001) and symptoms of exercise-induced wheeze (odds ratio 0.59, 95% confidence interval 0.40-0.87, p = 0.008) but not against other wheeze symptoms or symptoms of allergic rhinitis or atopic eczema. Infection intensity with Ascaris lumbricoides or Trichuris trichiura was associated with a reduction in the prevalence of allergen skin test reactivity but not with allergic symptoms. There was no evidence of interactions between geohelminth infection and allergen skin test reactivity on the risks of allergic symptoms. The results suggest that geohelminth infections do not explain the low prevalence of allergic symptoms in the study population.

Prevalence of skin test reactions to natural rubber latex in hospital personnel in Russia and eastern Europe

Allergic reactions to natural rubber latex have increased during the past 10 years, especially in many health care workers (HCWs) who have high exposure to latex allergens. The prevalence of skin test reactions to natural rubber latex in Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and eastern Europe is unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of skin test reactivity to natural rubber latex in a population of HCWs exposed to latex. Nine hundred one HCWs regularly exposed to latex were evaluated using an allergy history questionnaire. Subjects were tested for latex allergy by titrated skin prick test with a biologically standardized latex extract. The diagnosis of latex allergy was defined by the presence of clinical symptoms when exposed to latex along with a positive skin prick test to latex. Forty-nine (5.4%) HCWs were skin test-positive to latex. Seventeen (1.9%) HCWs were classified as latex-allergic based upon positive skin tests to latex associated with allergy symptoms with exposure. Seven of 901 HCWs had experienced anaphylactic reactions to latex. The most frequently reported symptom related to latex exposure was contact urticaria. The prevalence of latex allergy among HCWs in Russia, the CIS, and adjacent eastern European countries is considerably less than reported in HCWs exposed to latex in western Europe and the United States. The low prevalence of latex allergy in Russia and the CIS suggests that lessened exposure to natural latex powdered gloves may diminish the prevalence of latex sensitization in HCWs in Russia and the CIS.

Changes over 13 years in skin reactivity to histamine in cohorts of children aged 9-13 years.

Several studies report substantial differences in the prevalence of skin test reactivity to allergens in children from adjacent geographic areas; others report an increased prevalence over time. To find out whether these differences depend on variations in skin reactivity to histamine, we determined the time trend of histamine wheal sizes in successive cohorts of unselected children living in the same area (Viterbo, Italy). We conducted three epidemiologic surveys, each including children aged 9 and 13 years. The 1983-7 study investigated 170 children (150 were tested twice); the 1992 study, 158 children; and the 1996 study, 208 children. In both age groups, the mean diameter of the wheal induced by histamine skin prick tests (10 mg/ml) increased significantly over time (9-year-olds: 3.25 mm in 1983, 4.68 in 1992, and 5.89 in 1996; 13-year-olds: 3.89 mm in 1987, 5.18 in 1992, and 6.50 in 1996) (P < 0.001 between subsequent studies). The distribution of the wheal diameters for both ages showed a trend to a right shift in the three successive studies (P < 0.001). The dose-response curves for three histamine concentrations (0.2, 1, and 10 mg/ml) had significantly steeper slopes in 1996 than in 1983-7 (P < 0.001). The marked time-related increase in the size of the histamine wheals could help to explain the trend toward an increased prevalence of positive allergen skin test reactions reported during the past years. The causes of increased skin reactivity to histamine remain conjectural.

Skin test and crossreactivity studies with Euroglyphus maynei and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus

The prevalence of sensitization to Euroglyphus maynei (E. maynei) in the United States has not been reported previously. To determine: (1) the prevalence of skin-test reactivity in allergic subjects to E. maynei compared to D. pteronyssinus, D. farinae, and B. tropicalis and (2) the allergenic crossreactivity between D. pteronyssinus and E. maynei. Skin testing with extracts of B. tropicalis and E. maynei (1:50 w/v) and standardized D. pteronyssinus and D. farinae extracts (1:50 w/v; 10,000 AU/mL) provided data on 250 subjects (87 males and 163 females) aged 9-77 years (mean age, 39.8 years) with possible allergic respiratory diseases. RAST inhibition assays were used to study crossreactivity between D. pteronyssinus and E. maynei. One hundred (40%) of 250 subjects had insignificant or no allergic diseases. Of the 150 allergic subjects (53 males, 97 females), 101 (67.3%) had a positive test (a percutaneous test with a weal diameter > or = 3 mm larger than the saline control) to at least one mite species; 60.7%, 60.0%, 28.7%, and 52.0% reacted to D. farinae, D. pteronyssinus, B. tropicalis, and E. maynei, respectively; 40 (26.7%) reacted to the four mite species. Positive tests to D. farinae, D. pteronyssinus, B. tropicalis, or E. maynei alone occurred in six (4.0%), four (2.7%), two (1.3%), and 0%, respectively. D. pteronyssinus and E. maynei showed moderately high crossreactivity in RAST inhibition assays. There is a high rate of skin-test reactivity to E. maynei in Florida. Moderately high crossreactivity exists between E. maynei and D. pteronyssinus.

Latex allergen levels of injectable collagen stored in syringes with rubber plungers

Objectives To assess the latex allergen content of glutaraldehyde cross-linked injectable bovine collagen stored in rubber plunger syringes. Methods Extracts of syringe plungers and collagen solutions before and after storage in syringes with natural rubber latex plungers were tested for latex protein allergens. Thirty-nine patients known to be allergic to latex underwent skin prick testing with extracts of the latex plungers, collagen solutions before and after storage in syringes, standard latex skin test reagents, four extracts from commercially available gloves, and positive (histamine) and negative (diluent) control solutions. Thirty-one control patients not known to be latex allergic were similarly tested. Results No latex proteins were detected using in vitro immunochemical techniques. Only 1 of 39 (2.5%) latex allergic patients reacted to the syringe extract and the collagen stored in the syringe. No reactions were recorded to collagen that had no contact with latex. Conclusions The level of latex antigens in injectable collagen is very low. The low prevalence of skin test reactivity in these highly latex allergic individuals suggests that type 1 hypersensitivity reactions as a result of latex contamination would be unlikely.

Choosing Appropriate Criteria for Tuberculin Positivity and Conversion in a Long-Term Care Facility

AbstractObjectives:The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued new criteria for conversion of the tuberculin skin test; in persons over 35 years of age, an increase in induration of at least 15 mm is considered indicative of new tuberculous infection. We reviewed our experience in a tuberculosis control program in a long-term care facility to assess the applicability of the new criteria to our patient population.Design:Retrospective review of seven years of tuberculosis control records and outbreak investigation.Setting:Long-term care Veterans Affairs hospital.Patients:All patients in the facility between 1985 and June 1992 who received routine admission and annual tuberculin skin testing or who were evaluated for possible exposure to active tuberculosis. A total of 2,342 skin tests were performed.Results:Mean increase in skin test diameter in patients with at least two prior negative tests and known exposure to active tuberculosis was 13.9 ± 4.7 mm. Frequency distribution histograms of skin test sizes of initial tuberculin testing in the entire population indicated 10 mm induration as a reasonable criterion for initial positivity.Conclusions:In our long-term care population, an increase in skin test induration of 10 mm may indicate new tuberculous infection. Criteria for skin test conversion derived from ambulatory populations in other geographic areas may not apply in all situations. Prevalence of infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and prevalence of skin test reactivity due to nontuberculous mycobacteria are likely to influence the predictive value of criteria for tuberculin conversion in a given population.

The prevalence of allergic skin test reactivity to eight common aeroallergens in the U.S. population: Results from the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Immediate hypersensitivity skin tests to eight select allergens were performed on a sample (N = 16,204) of the civilian noninstitutional population of the United States, 6 to 74 years of age, in the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES II). The eight allergens were house dust, cat, dog, Alternaria, mixed giant/short ragweed, oak, perennial ryegrass, and Bermuda grass. Skin test reactivity was defined as a mean erythema diameter ⩾10.5 mm at the 20-minute reading. Overall, 20.2% of the participants reacted to at least one allergen. Peak reactivity occurred in the 12 to 24-year-old age group. Reactivity was higher in blacks versus whites, but the difference did not reach statistical significance (23.2% versus 19.8%; p >0.05). Male participants had an increased prevalence of reactivity versus female participants in whites (22.0% versus 17.6%), but not in blacks (23.2% versus 23.3%). Skin test reactivity increased in both whites and blacks with increasing income and education. The prevalence of skin test reactivity was higher in urban versus rural areas, but the difference was statistically significant only for whites (whites, 21.6% versus 16.4%; blacks, 23.8% versus 18.4%; p >0.05). With logistic regression, the most important predictors of skin test reactivity in whites were age, sex, urban residence, and poverty status. In blacks, the most important predictors were age, urban residence, and poverty status.

Basidiomycete mycelia and spore-allergen extracts: Skin test reactivity in adults with symptoms of respiratory allergy

One hundred fifty adults, with respiratory-allergic disease, and 14 control subjects, without symptoms of respiratory allergy, were skin prick tested with 16 common inhalant allergens, 12 extracts of mycelia from Basidiomycetes grown in vitro, and/or 10 to 15 basidiospore extracts. Eighty-three subjects (58%) had positive skin tests to two or more of the common inhalant allergens. Twenty-seven percent of the study subjects had positive skin reactions to one or more of the Basidiomycete mycelia extracts, and 32% demonstrated positive skin reactions to one or more basidiospore extracts. None of the 14 control subjects had positive skin reactivity to basidiospore extracts. Skin prick reactivity of study subjects to 15 different basidiospore extracts ranged from 5% for Cantharellus cibarius to 17% for Scleroderma sp. The prevalence of skin test reactivity to basidiospores did not differ significantly from the reactivity to commercial mold extracts of several common species of the Fungi Imperfecti (6% for Cladosporium herbarum or Penicillium notatum to 13% for Alternaria tenuis). These results demonstrate that a significant number of individuals reporting symptoms of respiratory allergy have skin test reactivity to basidiospores and suggest that these spores are important fungal aeroallergens in the New Orleans environment.

Immediate skin reactivity and its relationship to age, sex, smoking, and occupational exposure.

To evaluate potential predictors of atopy, 3353 workers from various occupations were classified according to airborne exposures into three groups: (1) 1213 control workers with no measurable exposures, (2) 815 workers with gas and fume exposure, and (3) 1325 workers with organic dust exposure. Atopic status was determined by prick skin testing with common allergens. Workers exposed to organic dusts had a lower prevalence of skin test reactivity than either controls or gas- and fume-exposed workers. Skin test reactivity also decreased with age and was higher in nonwhite workers compared to white workers. No difference in skin test reactivity was seen between female and male workers, nor between smoking and nonsmoking workers. A logistic regression analysis that controlled for the correlation between the predictive factors confirmed the results of the crude analyses. It is suggested that atopic workers exposed to organic dusts might selectively leave the industry.