Specific Immunoglobulin E (IgE) and Skin Prick Test (SPT) Responses Against Battery of Pollen Antigens in Allergenic Subjects of Kashmir-india

Kashmir valley has been witnessing an increase in allergy related disorders usually due to aeroallergens present in the environment mostly during spring and autumn seasons. The present study was aimed at finding total and specific IgE responses in serum samples of 257 patients reporting to various health centers across the valley with symptoms of seasonal allergy. Samples were first screened for the total IgE levels by a sandwich ELISA method. All the samples showed presence of high levels of total IgE (650-1200IU/ml). Specific IgE levels were determined using grass and tree mix antigens by a two step capture ELISA method. After recording the concentration of total and specific IgE levels of 257 serum samples, 175 samples out of 257 were reactive for the allergens used in the present study. Specific IgE ranged from 1.1-75.0IU/ml representing moderate to high specific IgE levels. 82 samples not reactive to the allergens used above but had high total IgE levels were probably de to the other allergens which are further being evaluated., 22 patients having severe symptoms of allergic rhinitis complaints were tested clinically by skin prick test method for different allergens like pollen (18 types), insect (1 type), dust (5 types),fungi (5 types) and epithelia (2 types). The skin test reactions were interpreted and graded at 15-20 minutes.