OBSERVATIONS ON SENSITIVITY TO DUST FUNGI IN PATIENTS WITH ASTHMA

Abstract

In the past six years a number of cases of asthma due to fungi have been reported. Storm van Leeuwen 1 described the production of asthma with the dust of grain infected by mites and also experiments in which allergic reactions were produced in guinea-pigs by grain infected with Penicillium glaucum and Aspergillus fumigatus . Cadham 2 observed three cases of asthma due to wheat rust ( Puccinia graminis ) in which inhalation of the rust produced asthma and a vaccine prepared from the rust gave some relief from the asthma. In 1928, Hansen 3 reported cases of sensitiveness to several different types of molds. Hopkins, Benham and Kesten 4 reported a case of asthma with eczema due to Alternaria . Asthma could be produced in this patient by inhalation of a spray of the filtrate or extract of a culture of Alternaria and also by the intradermal injection of the filtrate. Recently, Bernton