Sensitivity to blomia tropicalis among allergic individuals in Barbados - abstract

ABSTRACT

The prevalence of specific IgE (RAST) to tropical house dust mite Blomia tropicalis (Bt) was studied in 126 related individuals with self-reported atopic asthma (AA) and/or self-reported allergic rhinitis (AR) and individuals with no reported atopic disease. RAST results were considered positive when a serum bound > 5 percent of the total counts (percent TCB) added; 17 (65.4 percent) AA were positive to Bt, 7 (29.2 percent) AR without AA were positive to Bt, and 16 (21.9 percent) individuals reporting no AA or AR were positive to Bt. Total serum IgE was significantly higher in individuals with self-reported AA (750 ng/ml) than in individuals reporting no AA (282 ng/ml; Student's t test, p = 0.02). There was no association between total serum IgE and self-reported AR. Additionally, total IgE was weakly correlated with RAST (Bt) for all individuals (r=0.349, p=0.001). Subjects with self-reported AA had a significantly higher mean percentage TCB (19 + 17) than individuals without self-reported AA (10 + 14; Student's test, p<0.05). This study suggests that sensitivity to Bt is common in individuals with atopic asthma living in Barbados (AU)