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JACI Highlights - October 2009The occupant: A major source of bacteria in house dustThe bacterial content of house dust is strongly determined by human derived bacteria. Täubel et al. show that up to 88% and 55% of bacterial sequences in mattress and floor dust, respectively, were associated with human sources, the residents' skin surface flora being a major contributing factor along with oral, intestinal and genital bacteria. The study, published in the October 2009 issue of The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology compared the bacterial composition of skin surface samples of occupants and mattress and floor dust samples of their homes, applying DNA sequencing technique. The authors demonstrate a highly diverse bacterial flora in house dust dominated by Gram-positive bacteria. While the focus has previously been on exposure to Gram-negatives, the results of this study support efforts to further explore as well the role of Gram-positive bacteria in the development of asthma and allergy. Indoor exposure to environmental microbes is commonly assessed by describing microbial groups in house dust. However, little is known about the actual sources of the exposures. The measured microbial markers do not differentiate whether the microbes originate from human or nonhuman sources; therefore, careful interpretation of such data is necessary. The biological relevance of human- versus nonhuman-derived microbial exposures in relation to asthma and allergy remains to be established. “The occupant as a source of house dust bacteria” by Taubel et al. (JACI October 2009 Volume 124 No. 4) |
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