Climate change and allergy in Australia: an innovative, high-income country, at potential risk – 2018

Introduction
– Impacts of climate change on allergens and allergic diseases are multifaced and supported by a body of sophisticated research (mostly international)
– Prevalence of asthma and allergy is high in Australia by international standards
– Research in Australia links environmental allergen exposure and outdoor fungal spores to health outcomes such as sales of anti-allergic medications, asthma emergency department presentations and asthma hospitalisation
– Climate plays a large role in allergic organisms, impacting production and our eventual exposure
– Australians vulnerability to adverse impacts of climate change on allergens and allergic diseases was highlighted by the 2016 epidemic thunderstorm asthma event in Melbourne.

Methods: A review of international and Australian research on climate change, allergens and allergy published from 2000 onwards.

Results and Discussion
Impacts of climate change on allergens and allergic disease are many and varied, including;
– Increase in pollen production, atmospheric concentration and allergenicity, changes in seasonality, and dispersion;
– Changes in fungal spore seasonality and increase in production and allergenicity;
– Changes to indoor environment such as moisture and mold growth;
– Changes in distribution and seasonality of stinging insect allergens;
– Increase in allergenicity of plans which cause skin reactions; and
– Potential increase in concentration of food allergens, such as peanuts (understudied area).
Research primarily focuses on impacts of increasing or projected increase in temperatures and CO2.
Pollen is the key focus of the article/where the bulk of the evidence is
Most studies are international, and while some included allergens present in Australia, there is an urgent need for Australian focused research.
Given the high prevalence of allergic diseases in Australia, it could be argued that these impacts pose a serious climate change-human health risk to Australia and should be a priority.
In Australia, no national or state/territory body has responsibility for the monitoring, reporting and forecasting of environmental allergens such as airborne pollen and fungal spores. Our monitoring is still geographically sparse and sporadic (e.g. some monitor for 3-month period and some year-round). This is due to poor, limited or short-term funding.
Australia has an impressive wealth of experience and expertise which we should be drawing on.