The Effects of Micro-Environmental Factors on the House Dust Mite

The proliferation of the House Dust Mite(HDM) is affected by temperature, humidity, ventilation, etc. Measuring temperature and humidity was performed at the very location where dust samplings take place and where they live in reality together with temperature and humidity of the ambient of the room. There has been discussion over the key environment factor of HDM survival; absolute humidity or relative humidity. It seems that relative humidity is the more important determinant for the mite's survival through the analysis of previous studies. Temperature, humidity, ventilation rate and Der P1 were measured in 4 flats in London. Mite allergen was detected in every house. Levels of Der P1 varied between <100ng/g and 22,778ng/g. Flats with high relative humidity(>50%) and poor ventilation(<0.5ach) showed higher levels of mite allergen than flats with lower humidity and adequate air change rate. Questionnaire survey was conducted and the result helped to confirm the findings from monitoring of environmental factors and the dust sampling.