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Storage mites are important sources of airborne allergens, especially on farms. A mite survey was conducted in the working environments of 121 farms in five regions of Germany. Of 859 samples, 743 (86.4%) contained mites, representing 547 857 astigmatic mites in 723 g of dust and 34 501 prostigmatic mites in 469 g of dust. Dust samples from nine sites of each farm were collected arid analyzed. Ninety-three percent of all mites belonged to the order Astigmata (storage- and house-dust-mite species): 35 Astigmata and 14 Prostigmata mite species were identified. According to the abundance and steadiness of the important astigmatic mite species. the following order was found: Lepidoglyphus destructor > Glycyphagus domesticus > Aearus siro > Tyrophagus longior > Blomia tjibodas > Chortoglyphus arcuatus > Thyreophagus entomophagus > Tyrophagus putrescentiae > Europlyphus longior > Tyrophagus palmarum > Acarus farris > Acarus immobilis > Gohieria Fusca, Blomia tjibodas was described for the first time as an abundant species of farms in Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A newly developed lectin neuraminidase test (LNT) and a panel of mouse monoclonal and post-infection ferret antibodies have been used to analyse antigenic drift in N1 neuraminidases of influenza A viruses isolated between 1933 and 1957 and also between 1977 and 1980. Significant antigenic differences were detected among the ‘early’ (1933–57) viruses since the NA of viruses isolated one year apart could be distinguished serologically. The NA ofthe ‘re-emerged’ virus A/USSR/92/77 (H1N1) was antigenically related but not identical to influenza A viruses isolated in 1949 (A/Paris/49 (H1N1), A/Geneva/49 (H1N1)) which thus predates the previously observed antigenic similarity of A/USSR/77 with A/FW/50 (H1N1) virus. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]