ABSTRACT

We aimed to determine the species of the house dust mites seen in Erzincan, the number of mites per gram of dust in the houses, and the relationship between temperature and the number of mite specimens.

For this purpose, 54 dust samples collected from 18 houses located in different districts of Erzincan province between November 2013 and January 2014. These samples were examined by a lactic acid precipitation method.

Of the houses in which the dust samples were collected, 94.44% were found to be positive in terms of mites. A total of 844 mite specimens were isolated from the dust samples, and the mean number of mites per gram of dust was found to be 18.34. The most common species was found to be Acarus siro (55.55%) and was followed by Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (50.00%), Tyrophagus putrescentiae (22.22%), Histiostoma sp. (22.22%), Lepidoglyphus destructor (16.66%), T. perniciosus (11.11%), Euroglyphus maynei (11.11%), Glycyphagus privatus (11.11%), Cheyletus sp. (11.11%), Tarsonemus sp. (11.11%), and Tetranychus sp. (11.11%).

Mite-holding rate of the houses in Erzincan province was found to be 94.44%. The mean number of mites per gram of dust was found to be 18.34. The most common mite species was A. siro, which was followed by D. pteronyssinus. (Turkiye Parazitol Derg 2015; 39: 124-30)

Keywords: House dust mite, allergy, temperature, Erzincan