Mite fauna and abundance in dust collected from bedding and bedrooms in Okinawa, Japan

Abstract

From June, 1993 to August, 1994,the mite fauna and abundance in dust from bedding and bedrooms were investigated in 20 houses of non-allergic dwellers in Okinawa, Japan. The dust samples were collected from an area of 1m^2 of bedding and floors by using a vacuum cleaner for 1 minute. A lot of mites (geometric mean, GM, 3,076,arithmetic mean, AM, 6,159) was collected from dust samples of a spring bed mattress in the bedroom. Among 8 spring bed mattresses examined, 37.5% had more than 5,001 mites and none harbored less than 1,000 mites. It was also evident that the number of mites from "shiki-futon" increased with the use of a spring bed mattress. A lot of mites (GM, 4,775,AM, 8,069) was also collected on the carpeted floor of bedrooms. In carpeted floors, 37.5% had more than 5,001 mites and none had less than 1,000 mites. The most dominant species was Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (75-99%) in bedding and (75-96%) floor dust of bedrooms, followed by Blomia tropicalis (0.4-11,0.9-5.8%) and Tyrophagus putrescentiae (0.03-4.2,0.1-9.8%). A small number of D. farinae was also collected.