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Chapter 2 Literature Survey

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Page 1: Chapter 2 Literature Survey - Shodhgangashodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/12630/6/06_chapter 2.pdf · Jaipur, Gwalior, Bhopal, Kolkata, Aurangabad, Visakapatnam, Chennai,

Chapter 2

Literature Survey

Page 2: Chapter 2 Literature Survey - Shodhgangashodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/12630/6/06_chapter 2.pdf · Jaipur, Gwalior, Bhopal, Kolkata, Aurangabad, Visakapatnam, Chennai,

The earliest observation of microorganisms in the air was made by Hippocrates (ca. 460

BC — ca. 370 BC). He believed that some of the diseases occur through inhalation of

contaminated air. Lucretius in 55 B.C. held a view that particles were carried by wind. In the

beginning of 19th century it was clear that pollen of higher plants and spores of fungi, bryophytes

and pteridophytes were liberated into the air and transported by wind. Several Indian workers

have assessed the quantum of pollen discharge into the atmosphere (Khandelwal and Mittre,

1973; Agnihotri and Singh, 1975; Reddi, 1976; Mondal and Mandal, 1998).

Aerobiological studies by the International Biological Program (IBP) have led to the

establishment of International Aerobiology Association (I.A.A.) in 1974 at Hague, Netherlands.

It greatly helped to promulgate new approaches to aerobiology. The major function of I.A.A. is

the promotion, in the largest possible sense, of aerobiology as a scientific discipline. Several

countries in Europe have daily news bulletins about the incidence of pollen in the air which

serves as a useful information to the allergenic patients.

Currently abiotic particulates or gases affecting living organisms have been included in

the concept of aerobiology by International Biological Programme (IBP) in 1964. Major

aerobiological research centers in India are located in Srinagar, New Delhi, Shillong, Lucknow,

Jaipur, Gwalior, Bhopal, Kolkata, Aurangabad, Visakapatnam, Chennai, Bangalore, Mysore and

Thiruvananthapuram (Agashe, 2006).

The first report on systematic aerobiological study in India was by Cunningham (1873)

who carried out aerobiological survey over Presidency jail premises of Culcutta. His work was

published in the book "Microscopic Examination of Air" (Cunningham, 1873). He attempted to

relate the incidence of cholera and other fevers using an aeroconiscope in Culcutta jails. About

5

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half a century after Cunningham's pioneering work, aerobiological studies in India were once

again conunenced by plant pathologists such as Mehta (1952) and Padmanabhan et al. (1952).

Systematic investigations on airborne pollen were initiated early at different localities in

India. Kasliwal et al. (1955, 1959) studied the atmospheric pollen grains of Jaipur. Lakhanpal

and Nair (1958) surveyed atmospheric pollen at Lucknow. Sreeramulu (1959) carried out

systematic and intensive studies on aeromycology at Visakhapatnam using Hirst volumetric

spore trap. Shivpuri et al. (1960) and Dua and Shivpuri (1962) studied the aerobiology of Delhi.

Subsequently two new centers, one at Aurangabad and another in Mysore came into existence.

The former was initiated by S.T. Tilak in 1966 and the latter was started by A. Ramalingam in

1965. Aerobiological investigations were commenced during 1970s at Bose Institute, Culcutta by

S. Chanda and in Bangalore by S.N. Agashe in 1973. Three others centres, one each at

Allahabad, Nagpur and Gorakhpur, came into existence more or less at the same time in the

1970s. Aeromycological studies at Madras were started by B.P.R. Vittal using volumetric

samplers in 1976. Many centres came up during the 1980s which include Gwalior, Jabalpur,

Santi Nilcetan, Manipur, Bodh Gaya, Gulbarga, and Trivandrum.

Systematic aerobiological investigation, especially of airborne pollen, was initiated at

Patel Chest Institute, Delhi in 1957 by Shivpuri and his co-workers. Sreeramulu (1960) studied

the spore content of Darjeeling. Nair (1963) surveyed airborne pollen at Vellore. Gupta and

Singh (1965) prepared a pollination calendar of allergenic plants of Bilcaner and &tied out

aerial survey of pollen and fungi. Baruah and Chetia (1966) studied airspora of Guwahati from

allergy point of view. Sreeramulu (1967) reviewed the aerobiological status of India. Talde

(1969) studied the suspended airspora over banana fields in Parbhani, Maharastra. Subba Reddi

6

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(1970) carried out a comparative survey of atmospheric pollen and fungal spores at two places

twenty miles apart. The aerobiological study of Aurangabad caves was carried out by Tilak and

Kulkarni (1972). Pande (1976) studied the airspora over several agricultural fields at Nanded,

Maharastra. Millins et al. (1976) identified the sources and incidence of airborne Aspergillus

fumigates.

Shukla and Mishra (1978) made a survey of pollen at Kanpur, U.P. and prepared a pollen

calendar. Appanna (1980) prepared a pollination calendar of potentially allergic pollen-

producing plants of Vijaywada, Andhra Pradesh. Mandal and Chanda (1981) carried out

aeropalynological sampling in Kolkata city. Dosi and Kulkarni (1981) have carried out a

preliminary survey of the airspora of Mumbai. Gaur and Kasana (1981) studied aerobiology of

Modi Nagar, Gujarat. Singh (1981, 1983) conducted an airborne pollen survey and preparation of

pollen calendar in Shillong. Satpute et al. (1983) contributed to the aerobiology of Shillong and

studies related to the seasonal variations of atmospheric pollen and fungal spores. Ghai (1984)

studied the airspora of the suburbs of Mumbai. Ithare (1984) studied airspora with special

reference to fungal spores at Rani Durgawati Vishwavidyalaya Campus in Jabalpur, M.P.

Agashe and Chatterjee (1987) carried out aeropalynological survey at different altitudes using

aircraft sampling method, in Bangalore. Yeragi and Sasikumar (1985) undertook an extensive

survey of airspora of the industrially polluted Ambernath and Ulhasnagar, the distant suburbs of

Mumbai. Nair et al. (1986) surveyed the airborne pollen, spores and other materials of India.

Bhat and Rajasab (1988) studied the incidenc,e of airborne fungal spores at two different sites in

Gulbarga. Malik et al. (1990) investigated the concentration of pollen allergens at human height.

Srivastava and Shukla (1990) carried out investigation of airspora of Balrampur city, West

Bengal. Vaidya (1990) studied airspora at Aurangabad and its relevance with environmental 7

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parameters. Lacey et al. (1990) studied the airborne microorganisms associated with domestic

waste composting. Singh (1991) published a summary of three decades of aerobiological

research in North East India. Jain and Datta (1992) listed pollen grains in the airspora of

Gwalior. Chaturvedi et al. (1992) wrote an account of incidence of grass pollen in Indian

environment. Agashe and Sudha (1995) studied circadian periodicity of fungal spores in

Bangalore city. Spilcshma et al. (1995) studied the trends and fluctuations in annual quantities

and the starting date of birch (Betula) pollen in Europe. Arora (1995) carried out aerobiological

survey of Churu District of Rajasthan. Reddi and Reddi (1996) performed aeromycological

survey of Vilcarabad. Satheesh et al. (1997) studied the airborne pollen incidence in relation to

season and vegetation at Kodailcanal, Tamil Nadu. Rapiejko et al. (1998) evaluated pollen count

at different heights and distance. Satheesh Kumar and Vittal (1998) carried out a preliminary

survey of airborne pollen in Madras City. Khadelwal (2001) surveyed airspora of Lucknow.

Mishra et al. (2002) studied circadian periodicity of airspora in different seasons in Jabalpur.

George and Varma (2002) studied seasonal and diurnal variations of airborne fungal spores in

Jabalpur. Devi et al. (2002) studied the airspora of setni—urban areas of Guwahati city. Sahney

and Chaurasia (2004, 2008) have monitored the incidence and density of grass pollen in the

atmosphere of Allahabad. Aeropalynological studies at Pulwama District of Kashmir have been

carried out by Mudasir et al. (2006). Tiwari et al. (2006) have compiled a pollen calendar of

Raipur and also identified the pollen grains of allergenic nature. Pandey et al. (2006) carried out

aeropalynological survey of Banda District, U.P. An aerobiological survey of Guwahati was

conducted by Devi (2007). Jyothi and Bhagyalakshmi (2007) conducted aeropalynological

studies of exhibition grounds in Hyderabad. Hazarika et al. (2007) presented a report of the

aerobiological studies carried out at Assam. Das and Gupta - Bhattacharya (2007) have shown

8

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the relationship between airborne culturable fungal flora of an agricultural farm in West Bengal

and meteorological factors.

Aeromycological studies in India have progressed along three different lines (Vittal,

2005): (1) Outdoor aeromycology, (2) Indoor aeromycology and (3) Air mycoflora of crop

fields. Studies on mycoflora of indoor air were so far relatively few in India compared to outdoor

studies. The indoor environment included houses, hospital wards, libraries, poultry houses, cow

sheds, bakeries, grocery shops, go-downs, leather store-houses, etc.

Detailed studies on aerobiology of diseases of groundnut, cereals, pulses, vegetables,

oilseeds and cash crops are available. The investigations have indicated a close correlation

between meteorological factors, growth stages of crop and spore load in the atmosphere. Spore

level within and above crop fields has been monitored and it has been found that the

concentration within the crop was maximum when compared to higher elevations.

Aeromycological investigations were carried out in the caves of Ajanta and Ellora. The

significant role played by the airborne biodeteriogens in deleterious effects of cave paintings has

been well documented (Nair, 1960; Dua and Shivpuri, 1962).

Vittal and Glory (1985) analysed airborne fimgal spores of a library in India.

Murdhankar and Pandey (1991) worked on aerobiological and epidemiological appttach to

groundnut rust. Singh and Dorycanta (1992) have carried out aerobiological survey over a maize

field in Senapati District in Manipur. Ramachander Rao (1993) studied the epidemiology of

airborne conidia of Alternaria on sunflower. Chawda and Rajasab (1994) studied day to day

variations in the incidence of Alternaria porri conidia over a purple blotch infected onion field.

Raha and Bhattacharya (1997) evaluated aeromycoflora of residential areas of two distinct

9

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biozones of West Bengal. Verma et al. (1997) observed the diversified fungal spore

concentration in the poultry environment. Lohare and Kareppa (2000) investigated the

aeromycoflora over Soybean field at Udgir (Maharashtra) for two kharif seasons. Chakraborty et

al. (2000) carried out an indoor and outdoor aeromycological survey in Burdwan. Mitakakis and

Guest (2001) prepared a fungal spore calendar for the atmosphere of Melbourne, Australia.

Chakraborty et al. (2003) evaluated aeromycoflora of an agricultural farm in West Bengal, India.

Kasprzyk and Worek (2006) published data on airborne fungal spores in urban and rural

environments in Poland. Tiwari and Saluja (2007) have presented seasonal variation of

aeromycoflora of Catharanthus roseus at Raipur (C.G.). The aeromycological survey over

Mentha arvensis plantation at Raipur (C.G.) was carried out by Singh and Tiwari (2007). Pund et

al. (2007) published aeromicrobiota at different sites of Amaravati City (Maharashtra). Dhavale

and Reddi (2007) carried out the survey of the atmospheric microbiota over sugarcane field at

Ahmedpur (Maharashtra). Survey of fungal spora in the industrial units of Guwahati was carried

out by Devi et al. (2007). Singh (2006) studied aerobiology, epidemiology and forecasting of

fungal diseases found in certain crops of North-Eastern states of India. Debnath and Baruah

(2007) monitored the incidence of airborne mycoflora of a tea field at Jorhat district, Assam.

Mohture et al. (2007) studied aeromycoflora of a semi-urban area of Wanjra, Nagpur.

Chakrabarti et al. (2007) carried out aeromycological studies over an agricultural field near

Kolkata, West Bengal. A quantitative and qualitative assessment of the indoor mycoflora of a

school building was carried out by Majumdar et al. (2007, 2008). Kalkar and Tatte (2007)

investigated aeromycoflora of indoor environment in hospitals of Nagpur. Investigations on

fungal spora of a playground in Pimpri, Chinchwad area was carried out by Ahire et al. (2007).

Bharati et al. (2007) studied the fungal airspora of Maria coalfields. Sahney and Purwar (2007)

10

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surveyed airborne fungi at Allahabad. Majumdar and Ghara (2008) studied the indoor

aeromycoflora of school buildings in Kolkata. Cholke and Mahajan (2008) carried out studies of

aeromycoflora inside poultry shed. Debnath and Baruah (2008) evaluated seasonal variation of

air mycoflora over tea plantation in Jorhat district, Assam.

Pollen and Climate:

Climatic changes influence vegetative growth, reproductive cycle and in turn, pollen

counts. Relative humidity, temperature, wind speed and rainfall are the most important factors in

daily variations of pollen grains (Emberlin et al., 2004). The warm dry season stimulates

flowering in some tree taxa and aids dehiscence (Solomon, 1979). Smart et al. (1979) published

comprehensive information on the relation between weather parameters and pollen counts in

Australia. According to their findings, grass pollen incidence was greatest on days with high

maximum temperature and reduced on days of high humidity and low temperature. Jarai-

Komlodi and Madzihradzky (1994) are of the opinion that the pollen dispersion may be

influenced by a number of internal (physiological, phyto-ontogenical and antho-biological) and

external (meteorological) factors, varying from year to year. McDonald (1980) opined that heavy

rains may delay the stamens to open and may suppress pollen dispersion. Lacey (1981) has

studied the temperature effect on hygroscopic movements and water rupture of pollen grains that

help it to liberate easily into the atmosphere. According to McCartney (1994) the dispersal of

aerobiological particles is the result of complex interactions between the biological and physical

factors. The effect of biological factors may differ between species and location, but the physical

mechanism of dispersal is essentially the same for all particles. Rebeiro et al. (2003) found that

air-borne pollen concentration significantly correlated with certain meteorological parameters.

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Pollen concentration was positively correlated with temperature and wind direction and

negatively correlated with rainfall and number of rainy days. Rodriguez-Rajo et al. (2003)

published the correlation between pollen content in the atmosphere of Lugo (NW Spain) and

weather parameters. A positive correlation was seen with temperature, hours of sun and wind

speed and negative correlation with rainfall and relative humidity. Prospero et al. (2005), after

studying the response to strong El Nino, suggest that long- range transport of microorganisms

might be particularly responsive to climate variability. Mesa et al. (2003) analysed that rainfall

and maximum temperature are important factors controlling the magnitude of grass-pollen

season in southern Spain and United Kingdom. Mandal et al. (2006) reported that the variation of

pollen load showed a positive correlation with all the meteorological parameters except mean

maximum temperature and relative humidity, where it showed a negative correlation. Mansour

and Abdel (2005) published data of their aerobiological studies at Giza district, Egypt, in which

they mention that rainfall and relative humidity reduce airborne pollen counts, whereas

temperature has the greatest influence on daily pollen count because more vapours in the

atmosphere may hinder the mobility of airborne pollen and also, rainfall washes out pollen from

the atmosphere. Clot (2003), after overviewing twenty years data in airborne pollen at Neuchatel

(Switzerland) confirmed the airborne pollen to be a sensitive indicator of climate change. Munshi

(1994) prepared a pollen calendar of Kashmir University campus and opined that no clear

relationship could be established between wind velocity and pollen concentration. Burt and

Rutter (1994) concluded from their studies that there was no definite relationship between spore

catch and weather parameters like relative humidity and wind speed. McCartney (1994) has

reported that wind has an enormous capacity to disperse material. Air borne pollen grains

generally travel short distances, however, when they are blown into the upper strata of the

12

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atmosphere, pollen grains travel long distances. Pollen count is reduced after precipitation

(Shivanna, 2003). Rainfall and relative humidity reduce airborne pollen count whereas

temperature has the greatest influence on daily pollen count because more vapours in the

atmosphere may hinder the mobility of the airborne pollen and rain washes out pollen from the

atmosphere. Moreover heavy rainfall delays the dehiscence of stamens and may suppress pollen

dispersion. Burt and John (1994) showed that there is no relationship between spore catches and

relative humidity and also that there is no significant correlation between conidial counts and

wind speed. Magda et al. (1994) have observed the influence of a number of internal factors such

as physiological, phyto-ontogenical, anthobiological, and external, such as meteorological

factors varying from year to year to influence the pollen dispersion. The long-range transport of

microorganisms might be particularly responsive to climate variability in general.

Temperature affects the hygroscopic movement and water rupture of pollen grains that

help to liberate pollen easily to the atmosphere (Lacey, 1981). Prospero et al. (2005) suggested

that microorganisms and dust concentration were unusually great in 1997, possibly in response to

the strong El Nino effect. The range of transport of microorganisms might be particularly

responsive to climate variability in general. Jan et al. (2003) analysed that rainfall and high

temperature are important factors controlling the magnitude of the grass pollen season in both

southern Spain and UK and that the strength and direction of the influence exerted by these

variables changes with geographical location and time. Rebeiro et al. (2003) showed a significant

correlation between airborne pollen concentration and certain meteorological parameters. Pollen

concentration positively correlated with temperature and wind direction and negatively

correlated with rainfall and number of rainy days. McCartney (1994) observed that the dispersal

of aerobiological particles is the results of complex inter-reactions between biological and 1 3

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physical factors. The effects of biological factors may differ between species and location but the

physical mechanisms of dispersal are essentially the same for all particles. Griffin (2003)

observed that dust particles serve as a vessel for global dispersion of bacteria and fungi. Dust

borne microorganisms may play a significant role in the ecology and health of down wind

ecosystem. Rodriguez-Rajo et al. (2003) correlated annual pollen with hours of sun, temperature,

wind speed and relative humidity. The results were positive with hours of sun and wind speed

and negative with rainfall and relative humidity. It may be noted from the above literature survey

that the effect of biological, meteorological and anthobiological factors are not uniform but have

shown a great variability in their response.

The ultimate aim of an aerobiologist is to compile a pollen/spore calendar, which will be

useful to allergologists and patients suffering from allergy. The main objective of the continuous

air sampling is to get qualitative and day-to-day variations in the concentrations of different

pollen and fungal types. Such data enables compilation of the pollen calendar, which depicts the

duration and concentration of various pollen types in the atmosphere. Pollen calendars compiled

by aerobiologists provide knowledge of the occurrence and concentration of allergenic pollen,

which is of great help to clinicians for proper diagnosis. Pollen calendars should be compiled and

updated every year, because the magnitude and quality of annual pollen load in the atmosphere

can vary significantly (Sudha, 1992). There can be significant variation in the atmospheric pollen

even between two successive years. This aspect was highlighted by Agashe and Abraham

(1990). A pollen calendar of Chennai for the year 2001 has been compiled and published by

B.P.R. Vittal, Uday Prakash and Bhuvaneshwari of the Center of Advanced Studies in Botany,

University of Madras, Chennai.

14

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Pollen calendars have been prepared by several workers in India for various places. As a

pre-requisite to the evaluation of allergenicity by an allergologist, the lcnowedge of the pollen

calendar of the local region is essential. Pollen calendar was prepared by Karla and Dumbrey

(1957) for Poona; Sanghvi et al. (1957) for Rajasthan; Subba Reddi (1970) for Visakhapatnam;

Khandelwal and Mittre (1973) for Lucknow; Jha et al. (1975) for Varanasi; Deshpande and

Chitaley (1976), Chanda and Mandal (1977) for Kalyani in West Bengal; Tripathi et al. (1978)

for Bhopal; Bora and Baruah (1980) for Guwahati; Appanna (1980) for Vijayawada, Andhra

Pradesh; Gaur and Kasana (1981) for Modi Nagar; Jain and Das (1981) for Gwalior; Singh and

Babu (1982) for Delhi, Tripathi et al. (1982), Nayar and Ramanujam (1989) for Secunderabad.

Pollen calendar of Bangalore city was compiled for two years, 1982-83 and 1983-84 (Agashe

and Abraham, 1990), which showed the count and relative abundance of 15 major pollen types.

Aerobiologists have also prepared pollen calendars for various sites outside India.

Atmospheric survey conducted in France and a comparative study by Monpellier and Font-

Romen provided pollen calendars for Alder, Pinus, Rumex, Cupressaceae, Poaceae and

Urticaceae. The pollen calendar for Switzerland was provided by Leuschner (1974) at

Switzerland and at Germany by Stix (1974). Pollen calendar for Huddinge, Sweden was

formulated on a five years survey by Nilsson and Pahnberg-Gotthard (1982). Jarai—Komlodi and

Madzihradzky (1994) prepared a five years pollen calendar at Hungary (1989-1993).

Pollen calendars have also been published for Stockhohn (Nilsson and Praglowski, 1974;

Engstorm and Nilsson, 1979; Juhlin-Dannfelt, 1984), Alexandria (Ghazly and Fawzy, 1988) and

Turin (Caramiello et al., 1989).

15

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Other Uses of Aerobiology:

The ramifications of aerobiological studies are wide and varied covering diverse sectors

of human pursuit. The areas of interest may be classified into primary sector (agricukure),

secondary sector (industry) and the tertiary sector including, forestry, health, energy,

environment, tourism and socio-economic component like eco-development and criminology

(Nair, 1994). Long-term aerobiological survey of an area can be used in the construction of

statistical models for prediction of the start and intensity of pollen season. (Bringfelt, 1982). It

has been proved that pollen grains and spores can aid in the reconstruction of events in forensic

sciences. Aerobiological studies have been employed for the control of illicit drug adulteration

by identifying and analysing the airborne fungal spores present in drugs, such as, heroin and

cocaine. The presence of fungal conidia in dry powder arise from contamination during the

period extending from its synthesis to its packing .Analysis revealed that the fungal

contamination in brown heroin was significantly more than in white heroin and cocaine

(Dominguez-Vilches, 1994).

Aerobiology and allergy:

Air contains an array of biological particles of different shapes and sizes. These

bioparticles (pollen grains, fungal and algal spores and fragments, dust and dust mites, animal

proteins) when inhaled cause Type I respiratory disorders in certain genetically predisposed

individuals. Such substances are known as inhalant allergens. The term allergy was first

introduced in 1906 by Freiherr van Pirquet, an Austrian physician, to describe any abnormal

reaction on the inunune system. Allergy is defined as altered and accelerated reaction of a person

to a second and subsequent exposure to a substance to which his body has already become

16

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sensitized by a previous exposure. Aerobiological studies in relation to allergy, has a great

relevance as the problem of allergy is assuming alarming proportions all over the world. All

pollen grains occurring in the atmosphere do not cause allergy. The pollen grains which cause

allergy have to fulfill certain basic requirements stated by Thommen (1931), such as:

1. They should contain an excitant to cause allergy.

2. They should be wind pollinated.

3. They should be buoyant enough to be carried away easily by wind.

4. They should be produced in huge amounts.

5. The plant producing such pollen grains must be widely and abundantly distributed.

Van-Halment (1607) was the first to report an annually occurring asthma due to

the pollen. Floyer (1726) reported the first case of fungal sensitivity with regard to allergy.

Significance of pollen as allergen was started in 1766, when Koelreuter reported dissemination

of pollen by wind. Bostock (1819) for the first time suspected pollen as a cause of hay fever.

Elliotstan (1831) pointed out the positive allergenicity of Poaceae and Amaranthus. The firSt

complete description of hay fever was given by Botok in 1819, but he incorrectly attributed it to

the heat of the sununer. Ehrenberg (1872) published information on micro-organisms from

atmospheric dust for the first time. Charles Blackley, who was also a sufferer of hay fever, noted

that the disease was more prevalent in educated town dwellers who were exposed to high

amounts of pollen. He noted that some army officers in India were afflicted with hay fever only

where there was grass, or only when they came back to England in the summer and very seldom

at high altitudes. He found that his own hay fever was better at sea side, but only when the wind

was from the sea or when sailing in a boat far out to sea or after the hay was cut. In 1857 his

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children brought some early flowering grasses into the house and caused an attack before the

season, perhaps providing the final stimulus for his prolonged investigations.

In 1831 Elliotstan suggested that pollen of plants growing in meadows cause hay fever.

Blackley (1873) proved the validity of this view by self-inhaling Penicillium spores and

producing acute asthma. He carried out the first bronchial provocation test. Dunbar (1903)

demonstrated the proteinaceous nature of the allergenic factor of pollen grains and treated the

patients with serum pollantin obtained by immunizing the horses with pollen extracts. Ever since

the aerobiological work was initiated by F.C. Meier in 1936, extensive global progress has taken

place with reference to allergy and has been reviewed by various workers from time to time. The

airborne particulate matter of less than 10p diameter plays an important role along with allergen

exposure to decrease pulmonary function in asthmatics (Gupta-Bhattacharya et al., 2007). An

extensive study of many objectives was carried out in Europe and has been published in "Atlas

of European allergenic pollen grains" edited by Charpin and Surinych (1974). Basett et al. (1978)

have prepared a similar atlas for North Europe and Canada. Some examples of the health

ailments caused are cold, hay fever, allergic bronchial asthma, allergic rhinitis and atopic

dermatitis (Hyde, 1969; Stanley and Linskens, 1974; Knox, 1979; Leuschner, 1993; Agashe,

1994). Constance and Therese undertook pollen monitoring at Sydney, a city for Olympic Games

in 2002, out of concern that pollen sensitive athletes may have significant problems with allergic

symptoms triggered by pollen exposure. They found extremely high pollen count at the sites

chosen for training and competition. The study of airborne pollen at the University of Rome

(Caiola et al., 2002) indicated that the prevalent allergies were due to Graminae, Urticaceae and

Oleaceae pollen.

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In India, research on the identification of offending allergens in patients with

bronchonasal disorders and their treatment by immunotherapy was initiated by D.N. Shivpuri in

early sixties at V. P. Chest Institute, Delhi. Studies on aerobiology in relation to respiratory

allergy in India were carried out by Kasliwal et al. (1955). Sanghvi et al. (1957) made an

aeropalynological survey from allergy point of view at Rajasthan. Kasliwal and Solomon (1958)

made a correlative study of pollen frequency along with respiratory allergy in Rajasthan.

Shivpuri et al. (1960) canied out skin, conjunctival, bronchial and other clinical and

immunological tests with antigens extracted from spores of different species of fungi and pollen

grains prevalent in Delhi area. Baruah and Chetia (1966) showed the relation between airspora

and allergic human diseases. Sulemani and Gupta (1969) studied the role of causal allergens in

200 cases of bronchonasal allergy in Bikaner. Agarwal et al. (1969) studied the allergic fungal

spores of Delhi. Chanda and Sarkar (1972) noted that the pollen grains of Greater Culcutta are a

causative agent for respiratory allergy. Davies and Smith (1973) studied the airspora to forecast

the start and severity of hay fever season. Jha et al. (1975) performed clinical tests with some

airborne pollen and dust recovered from Varanasi area. Darke et al. (1976) diognised respiratory

diseases of workers harvesting grains. Chanda and Ganguli (1976) studied the role and chemistry

of some potential allergenic pollen as environmental pollutants in India. Shukla and Mislu -a

(1978) made a survey of pollen at Kanpur and prepared a pollen calendar and also studied their

allergenic significance. Sarpotdar and Rajmane (1978) studied the asthamogenicity of pollen of

Parthenium hysterophorus. Tiwari (1978) produced results of hyposensitisation from 100 cases

of nasobronchial allergy caused by local allergens in Bhopal. Shivpuri (1978) worked on the

influence of cliinatic factors and the role of offending allergens that cause hypersensitivity in

susceptible individuals. Prakash et al. (1978) worlced on clinical aspects of pollen allergy. Mittal

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et al. (1978) reported the results of intradermal tests by using pollen antigens on some patients of

nasobronchial allergy in Kanpur. Babu et al. (1979) noted a defmite correlation between the

amount of pollen grains in the atmosphere and the incidence of allergy. Chaubal and Gadve

(1979) studied aeropalynology and pollen allergens in Kolhapur. Vishwe (1979) observed the

correlation of seasonal and perennial incidence of allergenic symptorns with the atmospheric

pollen incidence and found Cassia tora pollen to give high positive skin reactions. Ajay Shankar

(1979) observed that pollen grains of Brassica, Ricinus, Adathoda, Ageratum and Artemissia

were clinically significant in Gwalior. Greveson (1979) has worked on fungi as a causative agent

of allergic diseases. Appanna (1980) prepared a pollination calendar of potentially allergic pollen

producing plants of Vijaywada, Andhra Pradesh. Acharya (1980) performed slcin test response to

some inhalant allergens in patients of nasobronchial allergy from Andhra Pradesh Shivpuri

(1980) identified clinically important pollen, fungal and insect allergens for nasobronchial

allergy patients in India. D'Silva and Freitas (1981) have studied the role of aerial mycoflora of

Mumbai in respiratory allergies. Tilalc et aL (1981) reported a number of patients hypersensitive

to pollen antigens of some local plants, including Parthenium hysterophorus. Anand et al. (1981)

reported the scope of aerobiological studies in immunotherapy. Mandal and Chanda (1981)

performed clinical tests with the pollen of Cucurbita maxima and Lantana camara and found

them to give significant positive reactions. Batabyal et al. (1985) observed the manifestation of

atopic and non-atopic allergy induced by pollen of Chenopodium album. Rao et al. (1985)

evaluated allergenic aeffects of Parthenium hysteroporus pollen. Chemical analysis of the pollen

grains of Acacia auriculifortnis was performed by Agarwal et al. (1986). Davies et aL (1988)

studied occupational asthma in tomato growers following an outbreak of the fungus Verticillium

alboratum in the crop. Singh et aL (1988) studied the influence of climatic factors on airborne

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pollen allergens. Detection of grass pollen allergy was done by Kundu et al. (1988). Sahay et al.

(2001) studied allergic reactions due to Aspergillus fumigatus. Santra et al. (1991) found pollen

of Datura metel and Cocos nucifera to be allergenically potent. Saoji and Giri (1994) have

worked on concentration of aeroallergenic fungal spores in intramural environments of Nagpur

city. Vijay (1994) conducted advanced studies on mould allergens of Altemaria altemata.

Yasmeen and Saxena (1996) studied the aerial biopollutants of Aligarh. Katelaris et al. (2000)

recorded daily pollen counts since 1994 as a part of Olympic Pollen Project to identify the risks

associated with Olympic Games for allergic athletes. Adhilcari et al. (2000) assessed the fungal

aerosol of a bakery with reference to allergic significance. Chauhan et al. (2004) reported

allergenic significance of airborne fungi of Agra city. Verma and Jacob (2005) studied

allergenicity of fungal spora in.the environment of cattle sheds at Jabalpur. Mir and Bhattacharya

(2005) also found pollen of Cassia tora to be one of the major causes of respiratory allergy.

Airborne pollen is a good model to study the interrelation between air pollutants and respiratory

allergic diseases. Mandal (2005) investigated the nature of aeroallergens from different parts of

Durgapur, a highly industrial area of eastern India, in terms of their role as organic

environmental pollutants. Saroja and Bhagyalakshmi (2005) have studied the impact of

biological pollution on human health. Mandal et al. (2006) have identified the allergenic

components of Peltophorum pterocatpum. Gupta-Bhattacharya et al. (2007) opined that the

airborne particulate matter of less than 10m diameter play a important role along with allergen

exposure to decrease pulmonary function in asthmatics.

Aerobiological work in Bangalore was initiated from 1973 because of sizable number of

residents suffer from allergic manifestations. Reports from Asthama Research Society clahn that

1.31% of the population suffer from asthma. Studies by Agashe and Elizabeth (1990) show that a

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number of cases of asthma in Bangalore, correlated to the peak season of Parthenium,

Casuarina, Ricinus and Amaranth-Chenopod.

Meteorological Parameters:

Rainfall and relative humidity reduce airborne pollen counts whereas temperature has

greatest influence on daily pollen count, because more vapours in the atmosphere may hinder the

mobility of the airborne pollen and also heavy rainfall washes out pollen from the atmosphere.

More,over, heavy rainfall delays the dehiscence of the stamens and may supress pollen

dispersion. However, Burt and Rutter (1994) showed that there was no relationship between

spore catch and relative humidity. Also, that there is no significant correlation between conidial

counts and wind speed. Magda and Medzihradsky (1994) have observed the influence of a

number of internal factors, such as physiological, phytoontogenical, anthobiological and

external, such as meteorological factors, varying from year to year to influence the pollen count.

McCartney (1994) observed that the dispersal of aerobiological particles is the result of complex

interactions between biological and physical factors.

Dispersion:

Temperature affects hygroscopic movements and water rupture of pollen grains that help

to liberate pollen easily to the atmosphere (Lacey, 1981). Prospero et al. (2005) suggested that

microorganisms and dust concentration were unusually high in 1997, possibly in response to El

Nino. The long range transport of microorganisms might be particularly responsive to climatic

variability in general. Mesa et al. (2003) found that rainfall and high temperature are important

factors controlling the magnitude of grass pollen season in both southern Spain and United

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Kindom, and that strength and direction of the influence exerted by these variables differs with

geographical location and time.

Rebeiro et al. (2003) showed a significant correlation between airborne pollen

concentration and certain meteorological parameters. Pollen concentration positively correlated

with temperature and wind direction and negatively correlated with rainfall and number of rainy

days. The effects of biological factors may differ between species and location but the physical

mechanisms of dispersal are essentially the same for all particles. Griffin et al. (2003) observed

that dust particles serve as a vessel for global dispersion of bacteria and fungi. Dust borne

microorganisms may play a significant role in the ecology and health of down wind ecosystems.

Rodriguez-Rajo et al. (2003) correlated annual pollen with hours of sun, temperature, wind speed

and relative humidity. The results were positive with hours of sun and wind speed, and negative

with rainfall and relative humidity. Abreu et al. (2003) found that distribution of pollen is very

irregular throughout the year in Porto in Portugal. Al-Subai (2002) while worlcing on airborne

fungi in Doha, Qatar did not find any correlation between wind direction and colony counts of

fungi. Bernard (2003) opined that airborne pollen is confirmed to be a sensitive indicator of

climate change. Trees appear to react stronger to climate change than grass and weeds. Jones and

Harrison (2004) studied the effects of meteorological factors on atmospheric bioaerosol

concentrations.

Griffin (2004) initiated a joint effort between the US Geological Surveys' Global Desert

Dust and NASA's Stratospheric Cosmic Dust Programmes to identify culturable microbes from

an air sample collected at an altitude of 20000m. Presence of viable microorganisms in the

earth's upper atmosphere may not be unconunon.

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