The occurrence of Ambrosia pollen in the atmosphere of Northwest Turkey: investigation of possible source regions

Abstract

Ambrosia pollen was first reported as an important allergen in North America at the end of the nineteenth century, and many European countries have recently reported its increasing significance for pollen allergy. The aims of this study were to determine whether the highly allergenic Ambrosia pollen recorded during the studied period could be the result of long-distance transport (LDT) and to identify the potential sources of Ambrosia pollen grains. The study investigates Ambrosia pollen episodes during the peak term of six yearly periods between 2010 and 2015 by examining source regions in Ambrosia pollen in Bursa, Turkey. A volumetric trap was used for collecting the pollen samples, and the back-trajectory model was used to identify a potential source of atmospheric Ambrosia pollen. The days when pollen levels exceeded 30 P m were computed, and clusters were shown on the figures. The study indicates that the Ambrosia pollen grains recorded during the episode in Bursa were not produced by local sources but transported long distances from potential source regions around the Azov Sea in Russia and Ukraine, Black Sea region of Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria. Note that atmospheric concentrations of Ambrosia pollen exceeded the clinical threshold during 28 days during the investigation period. Taking into consideration the high allergenicity of Ambrosia pollen, the present findings suggest that the number of ragweed-sensitized individuals might increase in the near future in the region.

Characterization of Patients with Allergic Rhinitis to Ragweed Pollen in Two Distinct Regions of Romania

“…The highest levels of airborne ragweed pollen in Europe are known to have been recorded in Hungary and Ukraine [6,15], which may explain the higher rate of sensitization from the NW region compared to the Central region. High levels of ragweed pollen have also been recorded in the Black Sea region of Turkey [15,16], which may explain a higher rate of sensitization to ragweed in the Southern region of Romania reported by Florincescu et al [12]. Looking to all this available data regarding sensitization to ragweed in Romania, we may assume that allergic rhinitis to ragweed could be more frequently observed in Western and Southern parts of the country.…”

“…The weather conditions (winds, rainfall, average temperatures) in these regions may explain differences in ragweed pollen distribution and secondarily in ragweed sensitization. Ragweed grows intensely on sandy acid soil, which is characteristic for the Southern area of Romania [12,16]. It is an extremely adaptative plant with maximum of germination and multiplication in regions with average temperature around 30 °C in summers [16,17], like in Western and Southern regions of Romania.…”

“…Ragweed grows intensely on sandy acid soil, which is characteristic for the Southern area of Romania [12,16]. It is an extremely adaptative plant with maximum of germination and multiplication in regions with average temperature around 30 °C in summers [16,17], like in Western and Southern regions of Romania. In summer the wind blows from the West, from Hungary, which may explain a rapid distribution of ragweed pollen from there.…”

Predicting abundances of invasive ragweed across Europe using a “top-down” approach

“…This is because atmospheric transport from these areas regularly contributes to airborne Ambrosia pollen concentrations recorded in Europe and western Asia; e.g. Poland (Bilińska et al, 2017;Kasprzyk et al, 2011), Denmark (Sommer et al, 2015) and Turkey (Celenk and Malyer, 2017;Zemmer et al, 2012). Furthermore, such data should clearly identify the invasion fronts of common ragweed as the level of infestation in a given area affects the mitigation strategies that are likely to be successful (Milakovic et al, 2014;Lommen et al, 2018).…”

Modeling hay fever risk factors caused by pollen from Ambrosia spp. using pollen load mapping in Ukraine

“…Mean values of atmospheric Ambrosia pollen tend to decrease away from these centers. High levels of atmospheric Ambrosia pollen have also been recorded in the Black Sea region of Turkey and Georgia [16,17]. Significant increases in the amount of airborne Ambrosia pollen tend to be in the areas considered to be at the forefront of Ambrosia expansion, such as Nevers in France and Salgótarján in Hungary [18][19][20].…”