The incidence of pollen-induced allergy diseases increased globally over the last decades. The impact of allergenic diseases was studied in 2019 based on aero-palynological monitoring performed in Vukovar with a distributed anonymous questionnaire assessing patients during their visit to a general practitioner’s office. During the study period, the month with the highest pollen concentration was August with significant domination of all weed pollen types, followed by April where the pollen of trees dominated over the grass and weed pollen spectrum. The predominant plants found in the air of Vukovar (Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Urtica, Betula, and Poaceae) account for two-thirds of the total pollen sum. Patients with the symptoms of pollen allergies peak in the 25-64-year-old age group, equally both male and female, but reside predominantly in urban areas. Symptoms related to pollen allergy are a runny nose or sneezing, affecting roughly 95% of patients, followed by swollen eyes (47%) and coughing or wheezing (34%). For the treatment of symptoms, they were prescribed antihistamines (90,14%), corticosteroids (67,61%) and other drugs (14,44%). The price of weed control to suppress or eradicate unwanted allergenic weeds from urban areas is almost 30% higher than annual medical treatments. However, the long-term effect of continuous mowing will be beneficial for improving the quality of life for allergic people.

allergenic weeds, pollen season, health risk assessment, economic impact

environmental engineering

Presentation: poster