Environmental factors associated with house dust mites in residential buildings of Qeshm County

Introduction : House dust mites have been shown to be strongly associated with allergic respiratory diseases such as, bronchial asthma and rhinitis. The aim of this study was to determine environmental factors associated with house dust mites in residential buildings of Qeshm County. Methods : In this descriptive analytical study, dust mite samples were collected from carpets and floors of homes using a vacuum cleaner and transferred to the laboratory. The samples were boiled and cleared in 85% lactic acid. Specimens were individually mounted on a microscope slide and identified to species by identification keys. Data were analyzed by SPSS software and chi-square test. Results : A total of 2951 house dust mites were collected. The collected mites were Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (33.17%), D. evansi (27.9%), D. farinae (21.02%), D. simplex (14.29%), and D. Siboney (4.43%). The most prevalent mite species was Dermatophagoide petronysinus and collected from all studied areas. In this study, 86.4% of the residential places were contaminated with house dust mites and the mean density of mites in per gram of dust was 2.61± 0.47 mites. In addition, a significant relationship was found between the mean density of mites in per gram of dust and the temperature of the residential places, relative humidity in residential areas, the floor coverings, and the family size (P<0.05). Conclusion: This study revealed that house dust mites in Qeshm city have high diversity and distribution. Since these mite species are incriminated as the cause of respiratory, asthma, and allergic diseases, a comprehensive program in health education should be implemented, to increase the public awareness and prevent the contamination of residential places by house dust mites.