World Cup South Africa 2010: Instead of hay fever - football fever!

Source: Wolfgang Pfensigl
www.pixelio.de

The European Centre for Allergy Research Foundation (ECARF) roots for an allergy-free football World Cup in South Africa

When Lampard, Rooney and the rest of the stars enter the stadium on 12 June in Rustenburg, allergic hay fever sufferers will take a deep breath along with the rest of the fans. According to the South African pollen calendar, they will be able to enjoy the game without a runny nose or itchy eyes – the only fever they might catch is football fever. It is currently winter in the Southern Hemisphere, and blossom pollen has receded on the Cape of Good Hope. Winter in South Africa is not synonymous with snow and ice, however. Instead, fans will experience mild, spring-like temperatures around 20 degrees Celsius. Coastal game locations such as Capetown, Port Elizabeth and Durban are especially agreeable for allergy sufferers.

“For pollen allergy sufferers, South Africa is an ideal place to visit during the World Cup season,” explains Prof. Dr. med. Torsten Zuberbier, head of the European Centre for Allergy Research Foundation (ECARF). “In these months, the pollen count is very low, and the humid sea climate near the coast is also beneficial for respiratory passages. At the end of August, as spring begins in South Africa, the pollen concentration increases dramatically and can lead to allergic reactions.”

Pollen-free only in the winter

In other seasons, allergy sufferers should be prepared for a high pollen count in South Africa. The country is known not only for its varied landscapes but also for the enormous variety of plants that grow there, including, for example, 947 native and 115 naturalised grass varieties. The most common types of pollen come from pasture grass, kikuyu grass and millet grass. Because of the warm climate, the blooming period can be extremely long and difficult for pollen allergy sufferers, lasting up to ten months. High pollen season near South Africa’s coast is in the spring, which lasts from late August until mid-October. The most significant types of tree pollen for allergic persons, willow, cypress, oak and eucalyptus, bloom for a relatively short period from mid-August until early November. Herb allergies play a less important role in South Africa; the most common trigger is ribwort plantain.

Allergies on the rise in South Africa

In South Africa, allergies have increased significantly in recent years. Currently, approximately one seventh of the population suffers from allergies, or about 6.7 million people. Allergies are particularly common in young people – according to a study carried out by the University of Cape Town, about 20% of 13 to 14-year-olds suffer from asthma and 63% of 12-year-olds report regular occurrences of hay fever. The most common allergens in South Africa include oak and sycamore pollen. During the Summer Olympics in Sydney in 2000, about 15% of the South African athlete delegation showed sensitisation. Other common allergies in South Africa are contact allergies to the branches and roots of the “Zimbabwe Creeper” flower. A more exotic and less common allergy is “City Asthma”, an allergic reaction to the city-dwelling cockroach and the red spider mite. It is notable that allergic asthma is so uncommon among the “Xhosa”, the indigenous people of South Africa, that their native language does not have a word for it. Researchers assume that they have become immune to these allergies through their natural living environment in grassy regions, which puts them in constant contact with potential allergens such as blossom pollen or animal hair.

Comprehensive information on allergies and pollen distribution can be found here:

www.ecarf.org
www.pollenstiftung.de

English-language information on allergies and pollen distribution in South Africa can be found here:

www.allergysa.org

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