ABSTRACT
There is increasing evidence that exposures to particulate-phase substances, most notably those of a biological origin, are responsible for a variety of illness symptoms associated with indoor environments. Biological contaminants include airborne mold spores/hyphal fragments, fungal glucans, mycotoxins, lower and higher bacteria (actinomycetes), bacterial endotoxins, antigens associated with the fecal wastes and body parts of dust mites and cockroaches, antigens associated with pet dander, and components of surface dust described as macromolecular organic dust (MOD). Exposures to airborne mold spores and fragments, dust mite and cockroach antigens, and pet dander can cause chronic allergic rhinitis and, in severe cases, asthma (Weissmann and Schuyler, 1991). Symptoms of chronic allergic rhinitis or common allergy are, in most cases, indistinguishable from many of the common respiratory and general symptoms reported in buildings associated with sick building syndrome (Godish, 1995).
