ALLERGENIC POLLEN IN EUROPE

Even if they represent only a small proportion of the airborne particles present in the atmosphere, pollen grains can be causative agents of allergic responses in susceptible humans, and pollinosis (oculorhinitis and/or asthma) is now a public health problem. A characteristic feature of pollen sensitivity is its seasonal pattern of occurrence usually at the time when the pollen or other allergenic plant debris show a heavier atmospheric concentration. The air presence of allergenic pollen varies according to the climate, geography and vegetation. Europe, extending from the Atlantic to the Urals, offers a great diversity of climate and vegetation and consequently of the pollen seasons with different pollen calendars from one area to another. As a result of free mobility among citizens, people who travel for work or for leisure need to have reliable information about the likelihood of seasonal allergies when they visit another country. For this reason, knowledge of the atmospheric pollen concentration encountered in the different regions is of great interest for clinicians and allergic patients to establish a correlation between the concentration of pollen in the air and the symptoms of hay fever, in order to achieve better management of pollinosis symptoms. The most important airborne pollen types for all of Europe are of grasses followed by Urticaceae pollen. In Northern Europe, pollen of Betulaceae (birch, alder, hazel) is a significant contributor to the incidence of pollinosis, whereas Parietaria and olive (Olea) pollen is responsible for many cases of pollinosis in the Mediterranean regions.