• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.187-189
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• 2008

House dust mites produce inhalant allergens of importance to allergic patients, We measured the major group 1 allergens, Der p 1 and Der f 1, from the house dust mites Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and Dermatophagoides farina, respectively in 100 randomly selected domestic homes from Cheonan, Korea, Dust samples were collected by vacuuming from the living room floor and 1 mattress in each home, Der p 1 and Der f 1 were measured by double mono-clonal ELISA. Der p 1 levels were very low, with geometric mean levels for floors and mattresses being $0.11\;{\mu}g/g$ (range: 0.01-4.05) and $0.14\;{\mu}g/g$ (range: 0.01-30.0), respectively. Corresponding levels of Der f 1 were higher, $7.46\;{\mu}g/g$ (range: 0.01-262.9) and $10.2\;{\mu}g/g$ (range: 0.01-230.9) for floors and mattresses, respectively. D. farinae appears to be the dominant house dust mite in Cheonan.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Food Hygiene and Safety Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.111-115
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• 2001

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Entomolohy Conference
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.64-64
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• 2001

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.31 no.2 s.83
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• pp.120-126
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• 2005

To assess exposure of allergy patients to a biological environment, measurements were made of levels of airborne bacteria and fungi, house dust endotoxin and mite allergens in homes of 7 allergy patients and 12 healthy families. Concentrations of airborne total bacteria and the ratio of indoor and outdoor concentrations(I/O) in allergy patient's homes were high compared to non-allergy houses. But no significant differences could be shown for the concentration of spores of viable fungi and staphylococcus in indoor air between the homes of allergic patients and healthy families. The results of investigation on house dust mites, Dermatophagoids farinae were detected in all mattress samples and the levels in the allergy patient's homes were generally high, with individual measurements exceeding $2{\mu}g/g$ dust found in $30\%$ samples. In contrast with, Dermatophagoids pteronyssinus were detected in only $60\%$ samples and the concentrations were very low. The levels of endotoxin in dust samples collected from the allergy patient's home mattresses were higher than those of control houses. There was a positive correlation between the endotoxin levels and the house dust mite allergens.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.26-30
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• 2005

The purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalent allergens causing canine atopic dermatitis in Daejeon area. Twenty two dogs were diagnosed with atopic dermatitis by an using intradermal skin test (IDST). Allergens used for the IDST included 33 allergen extracts from nine allergen groups: house dust mites (HDM), house dust, moulds, trees, weeds, grasses, insects/fleas, epithelia and others. The 22 purebred dogs with atopic dermatitis enrolled in this study included Shi-tzus (10/22, 45.5%), Yorkshire terriers (5/22, 22.7%), Miniature pinschers (4/22, 18.2%), Pugs (2/ 22, 9.1 %) and Cocker spaniels (1/22, 4.5%). The age of onset of atopic dermatitis ranged from 5 months to 5 years old (median: 1.79 years). The males (12/22, 54.5%) and females (10/22, 45.5%) were almost equal. The number of positive reactions to allergens recorded in each dog with atopic dermatitis was 3 (9/22, 40.9%), 2 (8/22, 36.4%), 1 (3/ 22, 13.6%) and 4 (2/22, 9.1 %), respectively. The most common positive allergen reaction was HDM (52.6%). The other positive allergen reactions recorded were from house dust (17.5%), insects/fleas (15.8%), trees (5.3%), moulds (3.5%), kapok (3.5%), silk (3.5%), epithelia (1.8%), weeds (0%) and grasses (0%), respectively. Positive reactions recorded to Dermatophagoides farinae and D. pteronyssinus were in 53.3% and 46.7%, respectively. The IDST results demonstrate that the most common causative allergens in canine atopic dermatitis in Daejeon area were HDM.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Entomolohy Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.155-155
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• 2002

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.171-173
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• 2003

A 23-year-old medical student showed a positive reaction on a skin test for Paragonimus westermani, and two Tarsonemus floricolus mites were subsequently found by sputum examination and identified morphologically. Our report is the first human case of Tarsonemus floricofus in Korea.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.27-32
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• 2010

The indoor environmental condition was assessed in houses with allergy (asthma and atopy) patients by use of a fungal detector. The fungal index was calculated from the growth rate of the sensor fungi in a fungal detector encapsulating the spores, Alternaria alternata S-78, Eurotium herbariorum J-183 and Aspergillus penicillioides K-712. Fungal indices were higher in asthma patient's houses than in control houses and Eurotium herbariorum showed the highest growth response among the sensor fungi. Dust mites allergen, Der f1, was also significantly high in allergy patient's houses where fungal indices above 10 were detected. A correlation was observed between the fungal indices and dust mite allergen proliferations in examined houses. Therefore, the fungal index can be a useful tool as an indirect indication for detecting chronic dampness that brings both contaminations by fungi and dust mite.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.149-154
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• 1997

A storage mite, Tyrophcgus putrescentiae, is recently known to be widely distributed in Korea, being commonly found in house dust, and may, therefore, be allergenically important. The purpose of this study was to develop mass rearing techniques for supplying a large quantity of allergens. The laboratory mouse food powder gave the highest yield, showing 1,251.5-fold increase in number after 10 weeks, and the mixed powder of laboratory mouse food and yeast (1 : 1) also gave same level of the production (1.203 1-fold increase in week 10). Several different combinations of temperature and relative humidity conditions were compared, and the maximum propagation was obtained at $25^{\circ}C$ and 64% RH, showing 960-fold increase in number. When the same amount of culture media was used the size of the culture container did not significantly influence the quantitative yield of T. putrescentice mites.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.93-96
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• 2009

House dust mites (HDMs) play an important role in the occurrence of allergic diseases such as asthma and atopic dermatitis. Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Der p) is one of the most prevalent HDMs. It mediates the activation of T cells and monocytes, and induces the elevation of immunoglobulin E levels in allergic diseases. However, the effects of Der p on human monocytes have not been fully understood. In the present study, we investigated whether or not Der p has a great effect on the chemotactic activity of the human monocytic cell line, THP-1 cells, as induced by CC chemokines. We also show that the Der p extract (DpE) increased the chemotactic activity of THP-1 cells in response to MCP-1, RANTES, MIP-1${\alpha}$, and TARC, but had no effect on the expressions of CC chemokine receptors (CCRs) binding to CC chemokines in THP-1 cells. Protease inhibitors, such as aprotinin and E64, blocked the increased chemotaxis, while cytoplasmic $Ca^{2+}$ influx mediated by these chemokines was inhibited by DpE. These results indicate that DpE increases the chemotactic activity of THP-1 cells in response to CC chemokines by regulating the cells' protease-dependent mechanism. This finding may be useful in identifying the pathogenesis of allergic diseases induced by Der p.