Allergenic flora and atmospheric pollen at Concepción del Uruguay. Relation with asma and rinitis

LATORRE FABIANA, MARCÓ LEANDRO, PIROVANI MARIANO, COSTA ALDO Y ERPEN RICARDO

Buenos Aires. MACN

Congreso; 9th International Congress on Aerobiology; 2010

Allergenic flora and atmospheric pollen at Concepción del Uruguay. Relation with asma and rinitis Latorre Fabiana1, Marcó Leandro2, Pirovani Mariano2, Costa Aldo2 y Erpen Ricardo2 1. Departamento de Biología. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata - CONICET. 7600 Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. fabianalatorre@yahoo.com.ar 2. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud de la Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos. 3260 Concepción del Uruguay, Entre Ríos, Argentina. marcol@arnetbiz.com.ar In the Northeastern region of Argentina, pollen grains are the second factor causing respiratory allergies (asma and rinithis) after mites. This interdisciplinary work collects aerobiological, phytogeographical and epidemiological information. It aims to progress in the study of the predominant pollen types in the atmosphere of Concepción del Uruguay, Argentina, during the spring and autumn, the relationship with the local flora, the classification according to potential allergenicity and the timing of exacerbations in studied cases of asthma and rhinitis. Aerobiologic monitoring was performed using an impact Rotorod volumetric sampler placed 8 m high in the urbanized area of the city. The rods were changed daily and the values expressed in grains/m3 of air. A pre-work catalogued the flora. The species were grouped in terms of their abundance, pollination and allergenic potential type. Clinical information on the manifestations of surveyed children was obtained with a questionnaire designed and validated for the International Study of Asthma and Allergy in Chilhood. All of the 21 most frequent tree genera (> 500), which represent 88% of the total of the urban forest, were found in the pollen records, including those classified as zoophilous. Fifty-nine per cent of the arboreal taxa (81 per cent of the surveyed trees) were under-represented. Thirty-four per cent were over-represented, notably Celtis and Phytolacca dioica, two taxa representative of native vegetation. Comparing phenological and aerobiological data, grass pollen contribution is local and regional. By applying the alergollogical density levels approach, high levels were found in spring for Fraxinus, and moderate for Poaceae, Myrtaceae, Celtis, Cupresseae. Autumn’s levels were moderate for Artemisia, Asteraceae asteroideae, Ambrosia and Chenopodium. All these are allergenic pollens. Thirty-eight percent of 532 polled children expressed episodes of pollinosis, of which rhinitis seems the most linked with spring and early autumn peaks coinciding with increases in air pollen counts. The relationship between herbs´ pollination peak and increases in rhinitis and asthma crises is remarkable. On the other hand, Fraxinus´ pollination period coincided with an increase in spring rhinitis. The flora of the city is dominated by trees with potential allergenicity and abundant presence of herbs that cause pollinosis but with moderate or low levels in the studied months, except for Fraxinus.