Not Only Can House Dust Cause Allergies, They Harbor Bacteria That May Lead to Asthma

House dust already has a bad reputation for causing allergies and sino-nasal congestion misery. Now there’s another reason to hate dust…

In the April 2010 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, researchers have found bacterial populations in household dust may determine whether or not a child living in that home develops asthma.

In the paper titled “Environmental Determinants of and Impact on Childhood Asthma by the Bacterial Community in Household Dust” researchers found “that the dominant bacterial populations in household dust are significantly influenced by environmental variables such as domestic animals and day care attendance. Further, the dominant bacterial populations are significantly correlated to asthma-related outcomes, supporting the hypothesis that the types of microorganisms present in homes in early life may play key roles in the development of childhood asthma.”

Read the research abstract here.