Background: Tetranychus urticae (TU) is a macroscopic mite which infests a large number of plants of economic interest worldwide. It has recently been described as a cause of occupational allergic disease in greenhouse workers. However, there are no epidemiological data concerning the prevalence of TU allergy in an unselected exposed population.
Objective: The aims were to study the prevalence of TU sensitization among greenhouse workers and its relationship to the working environment and to personal factors.
Methods: We studied 246 consecutive greenhouse workers, recruited directly from the field. A clinical and epidemiological questionnaire, a skin-prick test (SPT) to TU and common allergens and TU-specific IgE (RAST) determinations were performed. Seventy-five healthy volunteers and 152 atopic patients were used as a control group.
Results: The prevalence of a positive SPT to TU was of 25%. Forty-five workers (19%) were TU-allergic, occurring more often in atopic greenhouse workers (P < 0.0001). Seven per cent showed asymptomatic sensitization. The time of exposure to TU was significantly greater in the TU-allergic patients (P < 0.05). The probability of sensitization to TU was 3.7 times greater in exposed than in non-exposed subjects (P < 0.0001).
Conclusions: In this study, the prevalence of TU sensitization was 25%. There were significant associations with TU allergy and atopy and the time of exposure to TU.