Allergenic pollens in the southern Mediterranean area

Abstract

In the Mediterranean area there are characteristic climatic conditions (mildness of winter, summer dryness, etc.) that facilitate the growing of a typical vegetation with production of allergenic pollen, such as those from Parietaria and Olea europaea, very different from that of central and northern Europe. We present in this article the results of an 8-year pollen count in the atmosphere of Naples, Italy. The pollen content was examined with a volumetric spore trap (Lanzoni VPPS-2000) like that of Hirst. The results of the pollen counts were subsequently compared with results of skin tests of patients born and still living in and around Naples to determine the pollinosis of that area. We found that the most important allergenic pollen in the Naples area is Parietaria, with very long-lasting periods of pollination. The first period, more important, occurring from March to July, and the second period of much lower intensity, occurring from the end of August to the end of October. Pollen allergy to Parietaria was found to be present in 82.02% of pollen-allergic patients. It was followed by Gramineae (32.12%), Olea (23.11%), and Artemisia vulgaris (17.08%). These data are quite different from data of the pollinosis in northern Italy and in the northern Mediterranean area, as well as the southern coast of France, where allergic sensitization to Poaceae is the most important.