Determination of Pollen Source and Environmental Conditions Related to Pollinosis

Pollinosis, a pollen-induced allergy, is one of the most common climate-sensitive diseases. It usually happens during the period of April and May in Changchun, Jilin, China. To better understand the allergen of pollinosis, five slides mounted with a liquid of 1:1:1 (v/v/v) ethanol, glycerin, and water were placed on the top of 8 randomly selected buildings in Changchun Normal University for pollen collection every other day. The environmental data including air temperature and humidity were recorded to correlate with the medical records of pollinosis. The experiment started on 5 April and ended 25 May 2007. The result showed that the most frequent pollen sources are from Ulmus, Popolus, Salix, Juglans, Artermisia, Ambrosia, and Rosa. High air temperature and low humidity increased the spreading of the pollen in the air, thus led to more pollinosis, whereas low air temperature and high humidity had less frequency. Further research on the response of pollinosis patients to each of the above identified pollen is under way.