Allergenicity of Certain Airborne Fungal Spores

Fungi have been implicated in hypersensitivity reactions in sensitive humans. These allergic reactions can be related to exposure to either spores, mycelia or metabolites of fungi (Burge, 1989) and are more often experienced in the lower respiratory passages than in the nasal tissues due to the small spore sizes (Hjelmroos, 1988). Fungal spores, present in both indoor and outdoor air samples, vary in both quantity and type according to the season of the year, time of day, geographical location and nearness to the spore sources (Lacey, 1981). Aspergillus and Penicillium are usually non-seasonal indoor molds. Fungi such as Alternaria and Cladosporium are universally the most dominant among the outdoor molds (Hoffman, 1984).