The house-dust mite and childhood asthma in the Cape Peninsula
van Niekerk, C.H.; Shore, S.C.; Weinberg, E.G.
South African Medical Journal 52(2): 74-75
1977
ISSN/ISBN: 0256-9574 PMID: 897857 Document Number: 118325
Sensitivity to house-dust and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Trt.) and D. farinae Hughes was the commonest cause of asthma in children living in the Cape Peninsula, South Africa. Of 103 asthmatic children examined, 65.5% had positive skin tests to these allergens. Only a small number of the children were sensitive to pollens, feathers, moulds or food. The median serum IgE level was 496 U/ml, with a range of 18-15 972 U/ml, and the median blood eosinophil count was 691/ mu l (range 93-8159) in 102 of the children.