The distribution of cat and dust mite allergens on wall surfaces*

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This study was undertaken to determine the distribution of cat and dust mite allergens on wall surfaces and to assess the value of wall-wipe samples as a measure of allergen exposure. Paired samples were collected from 31 homes, 20 homes with cats and 11 homes without, by vacuuming 1 m2 of carpet and by wiping 1 square foot of an adjacent wall. Felis domesticus allergen 1 (Fel d I) was detected in 30 of 31 settled dust samples (range, not detectable to 832,000 mU/gm; median, 10,250 mU/gm) and in 27 of 31 wall-wipe samples (range, not detectable to 113.7 mU per filter; median, 1.2 mU per filter). There was a significant correlation between Fel d I content in settled dust and wall-wipe samples (rs=0.73; p<0.001). To assess the reproducibility of the wall-wipe method, multiple wipe samples were obtained from 20 homes, revealing a mean coefficient of variation of 110%. In contrast to Fel d I, although Dermatophagoides farinae allergen I was detected in 23 of 25 settled dust samples (range, not detectable to 11,888 ng/gm; median, 1178 ng/gm), it was detected in only four of 25 wall-wipe samples. We conclude that cat allergen, but not dust mite allergen, is widely distributed on wall surfaces and that wipe samples provide a simple and effective means of assessing household exposure to cat allergen.

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*

Suported in part by the Thomas Wilson Sanitarium, the Hospital for Consumptives of Maryland (Eudowood Fund), and National Institutes of Health grant AI-21073.

1

From the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Immunology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md.

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