Four Cases of Dust-Sensitive Asthma

Cooke (1922) first drew attention to house dust as an etiological factor of asthma. Since then there have been reports of many cases of asthma which were dependent on sensitivity to house dust and occupation dusts, such as wheat dust (miller's asthma) and wood dust {e.g.. teak). In the case of occupational dusts the nature of the allergen is known, but nothing definite is so far known regarding the active principles in the house dust. In some instances the activity of house dust would appear to depend on the presence in the dust of common allergens to which the patient is sensitive; for example, van Leenwen is of opinion that housedust allergen is probably a mould, yeast, or