TY - JOUR AU - IBIGBAMI, Temidayo AU - ADEONIPEKUN, Adegbenga PY - 2020/09/29 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Comparative aeropalynology of two communities in Lagos State, southwestern Nigeria JF - Notulae Scientia Biologicae JA - Not Sci Biol VL - 12 IS - 3 SE - Research articles DO - 10.15835/nsb12310768 UR - https://www.notulaebiologicae.ro/index.php/nsb/article/view/10768 SP - 729-740 AB - <p style="text-align: justify;">Pollen allergy is an abnormal response of the immune system to certain pollen grains and these reactions are gradually on the increase all around the world. The need for consistent and accurate data on aero-pollen density as well as the meteorological conditions under which they are prevalent is imperative for appropriate management of allergic conditions in hypersensitive persons. Therefore, to identify the ‘culprit’ pollen related to allergy cases in Lagos, two locations, Ipaja and Ikeja were sampled. Aero-samplers were harvested weekly from February 2016 to July 2016. Acetolysis was done on the samples collected and meteorological data from Nigerian Meteorological Agency and clinical data from Adefemi Medical Center, Ipaja were assessed against pollen counts. The total pollen count of 2,048 was recorded for Ipaja while Ikeja had 820 with main taxa of Amaranthaceae, Poaceae and Euphorbiaceae. Weekly pollen counts were highest in weeks 8 and 10(April) at Ipaja and Ikeja respectively and lowest in weeks 22 and 24(June) at Ipaja and Ikeja respectively. The pollen counts at Ipaja correlated positively with temperature and from the medical records, there was a positive correlation (p&lt;0.05, r=0.166 and r=0.44) between pollen density at both locations with cold and catarrh. Fungal allergens could have caused the spike in pollinosis in the wetter weeks (12 -19). The quality of the clinical data could also be a suspect which reinforces the need for more accurate and standard recording of clinical conditions across hospitals in Nigeria. This is the first record of weekly aerobiological data in Nigeria.</p> ER -