Abstract
Histamine is used in bronchial and dermal provocation, but it is rarely considered an environmental risk factor in allergic disease. Because bed bugs defecate large amounts of histamine as a component of their aggregation pheromone, we sought to determine if histamine accumulates in household dust in bed bug infested homes, and the effects of bed bug eradication with spatial heat on histamine levels in dust. We collected dust in homes and analyzed for histamine before, and up to three months after bed bug eradication. Histamine levels in bed bug infested homes were remarkably high (mean = 54.6±18.9 μg/100 mg of sieved household dust) and significantly higher than in control homes not infested with bed bugs (mean < 2.5±1.9 μg/100 mg of sieved household dust). Heat treatments that eradicated the bed bug infestations failed to reduce histamine levels, even three months after treatment. We report a clear association between histamine levels in household dust and bed bug infestations. The high concentrations, persistence, and proximity to humans during sleep suggest that bed bug-produced histamine may represent an emergent contaminant and pose a serious health risk in the indoor environment.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e0192462 |
| Journal | PLoS ONE |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 2018 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2018 DeVries et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding
Funding for this study was provided by the Blanton J. Whitmire Endowment at North Carolina State University, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development Healthy Homes program (NCHHU0017-13) to CS, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (2013-5-35 MBE) to CS and a National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences grant to the Center for Human Health and the Environment (CHHE, P30ES025128). ZCD received the David R. Nimocks Jr. Fellowship and scholarship awards from the Foundation for Agromedicine and Toxicology, Pi Chi Omega, and the Entomological Society of America.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) | |
| U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Healthy Homes program | NCHHU0017-13 |
| Alfred P Sloan Foundation | 2013-5-35 MBE |
| Entomological Society of America | |
| International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology | |
| University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University | |
| Center for the Built Environment | P30ES025128 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General
