Public Prevention Plans to Manage Climate Change and Respiratory Allergic Diseases. Innovative Models Used in Campania Region (Italy): The Twinning Aria Implementation and the Allergy Safe Tree Decalogue

Abstract

In recent years, climate change has been influenced by air pollution, and this destructive combination has justifiably sounded an alarm for nations and many institutional bodies worldwide. Official reports state that the emission of greenhouse gases produced by human activity are growing, and consequently also the average temperature. The World Health Organization (WHO) believes that health effects expected in the future due to climate change will be dramatic, and has invited international groups to investigate potential remedies. A task force has been established by the Italian Society of Allergology, Asthma and Clinical Immunology (SIAAIC), with the aim to actively work on correlation between pollution and climate change. The Task Force provided prevention tools to suggest city leaders how to improve the health conditions of allergic people in public urban parks. The "Allergy Safe Tree Decalogue" suggests the preparation and maintenance of public low allergy-impact greenery. Through the Twinning ARIA project, the Division for the Promotion and Enhancement of Health Innovation Programs of Campania Region (Italy), sought to promote the implementation of the project in the regional Health System. The main objective will be to investigate the current use and usefulness of mobile phone Apps in the management of allergic respiratory disease, through Mobile Airways Sentinel networK (MASK), the Phase 3 of the ARIA initiative, based on the freely available MASK App (the Allergy Diary, Android and iOS platforms). The effects of these prevention activities will be registered and compared with monitoring efforts thanks to the Aerobiology Units, located throughout the Campania area. A joint effort between researchers and public administrations for the implementation of prevention plans coherently with the two models proposed in a specific area, i.e. the Decalogue for public administrations and the MASK Allergy Diary app for individual patients suffering from allergy, will be implemented as a pilot.

Keywords: Air pollution; Allergic Rhinitis; Asthma; Climate Change; Health Innovation Programs; Public Health.

Figure 1

The Allergy Safe Tree Decalogue suggests that administrations that manage the public urban parks implement ten simple solutions. Favour the use of entomophilous plants, plants that have insect-led pollination and produce less pollen, and not anemophilous species that entrust the propagation of pollen to the wind (avoid plants such as: birch, cypress and olive trees) in the design of parks or in the replacement of new plants. Place trees and shrubs that bloom in summer or winter and not in spring to render the impact as minor as possible (e.g. jasmine nudiflorum, camellia, heather, liburnum). Prune hedges before flowering and before pollen emission. Mow lawns before flowering and pollen emission; follow the pollen calendar to manage graminaceous grasses that are highly allergenic. Weed endemic areas for ambrosia (Po Valley). Plan the mowing and management of greenery at night and on days with little wind. Reclaim areas of aggregation from arboreal, shrub and allergy-producing species. Reclaim public places from plants responsible for allergic dermatitis (asteraceae such as daisies and chrysanthemums, euphorbiacee plants like Christmas stars). Consult maps of climatic areas for monitoring pollen concentrations before organising public events [Patella et al. Clin Mol Allergy (2018) 16:20].