To investigate the short and long term efficacy of a commercial air ionizer in killing Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (D. pteronyssinus) and Dermatophagoides farinae (D. farinae) mites.
To examined the immediate and 24 hours post- irradiation germicidal effects of UV-C lamp on eggs and adults of house dust mites Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (D. pteronyssinus) and Dermatophagoides farinae (D. farinae).
A comprehensive 8-yr survey of acarine ectoparasites (ticks and mites) of bats was carried out in 18 localities from 2002 to 2009. Most of the surveys were conducted during 14 national biodiversity scientific expeditions throughout Malaysia. The objective was to identify acarines of known public health importance from bats and thus determine whether there is any potential public health risk in Malaysia. Trapping of bats was conducted using Harp traps and Mist nets. In total, 1,579 individuals comprising of 6 families and 52 species of bats were examined alive. In general, 25.6% of the bats were infested with acarines. Infestation rates of ticks, mesostigmatid mites, and chiggers on bats examined were 0.4, 10.4, and 14.7%, respectively. Their prevalence and mean intensity were tabulated. Genera of ticks extracted were Amblyomma, Dermacentor, Ixodes, and Ornithodoros. Of these genera, only two species can be identified to species level and they are Amblyomma cordiferum and Ixodes simplex. In total, 8 genera and 15 species of mesostigmatid mites were found; the species were Ancystropus eonycteris, Ancystropus zeleborii, Echinonysus nasutus, Laelaps aingworthae, Laelaps nuttalli, Laelaps sanguisugus, Laelaps sculpturatus, Longolaelaps longulus, Longolaelaps whartonii, Meristaspis lateralis, Meristaspis macroglossi, Paraperiglischrus rhinolophinus, Spinturnix acuminatus, Spinturnix americanus, and Spinturnix bakeri. Chiggers on bats were represented by 12 genera and 6 species; the species identified were Gahrliepia fletcheri, Riedlinia lipoxena, Trombigastia cadei, Walchiella impar, Walchiella oudemansi, and Whartonia caobangensis. The study produced an up-to-date list of acarine ectoparasites of bats in Malaysia where a total of 38 genera and 47 species of acarines were listed. Findings of the study demonstrated that 5 genera and 1 species of acarines that may pose potential health risks, can be found on bats.
Allergens of Dermatophagoides and Blomia species are well-characterized but not for other species. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of allergic sensitization to house dust (HDM) and storage mites (SM). One hundred adult subjects (aged ≥ 18) were recruited. The mite specific IgE of all allergic subjects were higher compared with healthy subjetcs despite being not statistically significant except for D. farinae and G. malaysiensis. The mean serum IgE levels against HDM and SM for allergic subjects were significantly higher compared with those in healthy subjects. They were mainly sensitized to Dermatophagoides farinae (35%) and Glycycometus malaysiensis (37%). Immunoblots revealed not all allergic subjects showed positive immuno-reactivity against the mites tested. Single or multiple bands were observed for different species. The subjects were commonly sensitized to Group 2 (9-12 kDa), 10 (38 kDa) and 18 (40-48 kDa) allergens. Twenty-one out of 60 allergic subjects were sensitized to either one or more species. The majority of them (71%) were sensitized to single species. The allergic subjects were mainly sensitized to D. pteronyssinus, followed by Tyrophagus putrecentiae and Aleuroglyphus ovatus. Seven were solely sensitized to HDM while 10 were solely sensitized to SM. Four subjects were sensitized to both. Pre-adsorption study revealed no cross-reactivity. There was difference between the prevalence and reactivity to allergens of HDM and SM in these subjects. Both ELISA and immunoblot did not correlate well but can complement each other in improving the detection of mite allergens to the species level.