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The article develops a new method of spatiotemporal modelling of possible locations of ragweed areas and estimation of pollen emission intensity of these areas. The method uses spline approximation with automatic computations of typical pollen production models in the R language. It applies a number of approaches eliminating the uncertainty of various parameters that should be taken into consideration for this modelling. The authors have consolidated some experimental data on the amount of Ambrosia pollen in the air depending on environmental conditions, and found some new possible ragweed pollen sources on the territory of the city of Vinnytsia and the adjacent villages. The study used spline approximation of the first (lines) and second (parabolas) orders were applied. Data of bi-hourly pollen concentrations were obtained at the pollen monitoring site of National Pirogov Memorial Medical University (Vinnytsia). To perform the approximation, wind speed, wind direction and relative humidity were taken into the consideration. The authors used the polar coordinate system to formalize the problem. PRA Finder computer program was developed, which has been successfully tested on real data and for which a certificate of copyright registration has been obtained in Ukraine. As a result of the method application, the known areas were corroborated and new possible plots were revealed. The comparison of the forecasted areas for 2014 with the actual ones showed a close match. However, it should be taken into consideration that the proposed method is viable only when applied under the condition that the wind velocity does not exceed 4 m/sec and the relative humidity is between 20 and 90%.

Pollen monitoring has traditionally been carried out using manual methods first developed in the early 1950s. Although this technique has been recently standardised, it suffers from several drawbacks, notably data usually only being available with a delay of 3–9 days and usually delivered at a daily resolution. Several automatic instruments have come on to the market over the past few years, with more new devices also under development. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of all available and developing automatic instruments, how they measure, how they identify airborne pollen, what impacts measurement quality, as well as what potential there is for further advancement in the field of bioaerosol monitoring.

Standards for manual pollen and fungal spore monitoring have been established based on several decades of experience, tests, and research. New technological and methodological advancements have led to the development of a range of different automatic instruments for which no standard yet exist. This paper aims to provide an overview of aspects that need to be considered for automatic pollen and fungal spore monitoring, including a set of guidelines and recommendations. It covers issues relevant to developing an automatic monitoring network, from the instrument design and calibration through algorithm development to site selection criteria. Despite no official standard yet existing, it is essential that all aspects of the measurement chain are carried out in a manner that is as standardised as possible to ensure high-quality data and information can be provided to end-users.

Alternaria spores are pathogenic to agricultural crops, and the longest and the most severe sporulation seasons are predominantly recorded in rural areas, e.g. the Pannonian Plain (PP) in South-Central Europe. In Poland (Central Europe), airborne Alternaria spore concentrations peak between July and August. In this study, we test the hypothesis that the PP is the source of Alternaria spores recorded in Poland after the main sporulation season (September–October).\ud \ud Airborne Alternaria spores (2005–2019) were collected using volumetric Hirst spore traps located in 38 locations along the potential pathways of air masses, i.e. from Serbia, Romania and Hungary, through the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ukraine, to Northern Poland. Three potential episodes of Long Distance Transport (LDT) were selected and characterized in detail, including the analysis of Alternaria spore data, back trajectory analysis, dispersal modelling, and description of local weather and mesoscale synoptic conditions.\ud \ud During selected episodes, increases in Alternaria spore concentrations in Poznań were recorded at unusual times that deviated from the typical diurnal pattern, i.e. at night or during morning hours. Alternaria spore concentrations on the PP were very high (>1000 spores/m3) at that time. The presence of non-local Ambrosia pollen, common to the PP, were also observed in the air. Air mass trajectory analysis and dispersal modelling showed that the northwest part of the PP, north of the Transdanubian Mountains, was the potential source area of Alternaria spores.\ud \ud Our results show that Alternaria spores are transported over long distances from the PP to Poland. These spores may markedly increase local exposure to Alternaria spores in the receptor area and pose a risk to both human and plant health. Alternaria spores followed the same atmospheric route as previously described LDT ragweed pollen, revealing the existence of an atmospheric super highway that transports bioaerosols from the south to the north of Europe.

In previous studies of actoprotective activity of 5-R-thio-tetrazolo[1,5]quinazoline derivatives in normal and complicated experimental conditions, sodium 2-(tetrazolo [1,5-c]quinazoline-5-ylthio)acetate (KB-28) was found to be the leader of the experiment. The objective of the current study was to characterize the effects of KB-28 compounds on carbohydrate and lipid exchange indices under the conditions of physical load as a possible mechanism of actoprotective effect. In the course of the experiment, the indices of carbohydrate and lipid exchange in the muscle, blood and liver of animal models were determined following a 15-day physical load course. In doing so, glucose, glycogen and total lipid concentrations were assessed. The KB-28 compound was administered daily at levels determined during the course of regular physical load normalized metabolic processes in rats. The results were then compared to a control which received intraperitoneally the equivolume 0.9% sodium chloride solution. The phenomenon of actoprotection consisted in enhancing concentrations of glycogen in skeletal muscles and liver. Compared to the control figures, this increase was 28.8% and 25.0%, accordingly. Moreover, the course of KB-28 caused a statistically significant reduction (by 32.1%) of the total serum lipid concentration in the animals under physical load. The effect may be a sign of the ability of this substance to utilize active lipolysis for improvement of the skeletal muscle performance. Having analyzed the results obtained, we can draw a conclusion that influencing the biochemical processes in the study models is one of the mechanisms of the KB-28 actoprotective effect.

It was shown that allergic diseases can have a psychosomatic component, and it may be important to consider it in the allergy treatment. So the aim of the study was to determine the presence of a leading psycho-type in a group of subjects with a confirmed diagnosis of seasonal allergy in order to improve both medical care and information delivery to patients. The study was carried out among adult men and women using the MMPI (The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) methodology. It involved 86 volunteers. Twenty-five of them constituted the control group of 13 women and 12 men, who previously had never been diagnosed with seasonal allergy. The remaining 61 patients were 30 women and 31 men who had been earlier clinically diagnosed with pollen sensitivity. It was shown that in men with a clinically diagnosed pollinosis, a leading psycho-type of rigidity, paranoia and schizophrenia is determined. A similar effect is observed in pollen-sensitive women who are characterized by the formation of a complex psycho-type with increased indices on scales of depression (D), hysteria (Hy), psychopathy (Pd), paranoia (Pa), psychasthenia (Pt) and hypomania (Ma). The results of the study suggest that the main approach to treatment of patients with seasonal allergies should consider a combination of two treatments regimens—drug therapy and psychotherapeutic support of patients both during the exacerbation of the disease and at the stage of remission.

Pollen exposure weakens the immunity against certain seasonal respiratory viruses by diminishing the antiviral interferon response. Here we investigate whether the same applies to the pandemic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is sensitive to antiviral interferons, if infection waves coincide with high airborne pollen concentrations. Our original hypothesis was that more airborne pollen would lead to increases in infection rates. To examine this, we performed a cross-sectional and longitudinal data analysis on SARS-CoV-2 infection, airborne pollen, and meteorological factors. Our dataset is the most comprehensive, largest possible worldwide from 130 stations, across 31 countries and five continents. To explicitly investigate the effects of social contact, we additionally considered population density of each study area, as well as lockdown effects, in all possible combinations: without any lockdown, with mixed lockdown?no lockdown regime, and under complete lockdown. We found that airborne pollen, sometimes in synergy with humidity and temperature, explained, on average, 44% of the infection rate variability. Infection rates increased after higher pollen concentrations most frequently during the four previous days. Without lockdown, an increase of pollen abundance by 100 pollen/m3 resulted in a 4% average increase of infection rates. Lockdown halved infection rates under similar pollen concentrations. As there can be no preventive measures against airborne pollen exposure, we suggest wide dissemination of pollen?virus coexposure dire effect information to encourage high-risk individuals to wear particle filter masks during high springtime pollen concentrations. © 2021 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved., 1.1.1.2/VIAA/2/18/283; European Cooperation in Science and Technology, COST: CA18226; Academy of Finland, AKA: 318194, PS4A; Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, MECD: FPU15/01668; Department of the Environment, Australian Government; Lietuvos Mokslo Taryba; Ministarstvo Prosvete, Nauke i Tehnološkog Razvoja, MPNTR: 451-03-68/2020-14/200358; European Social Fund, ESF: 09.3.3-LMT-K-712-01-0066; Helmholtz Association; Christine Kühne – Center for Allergy Research and Education, CK-CARE, ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. We thank Mr. Luis-Leopold Moelter and Mr. Mehmet Gökkaya for assistance in overall data curation. The study was partly implemented in the frame of the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (EU-COST) program, "New approaches in detection of pathogens and aeroallergens (ADOPT)," Grant CA18226 (EU Framework Program Horizon 2020). D.B. and C.T.-H. were supported by the Helmholtz Climate Initiative (HI-CAM), Mitigation and Adaptation. A.Ch. and D.V. were supported by the Municipality of Thessaloniki, Greece (Directorate for the Management of the Urban Environment, Department of Environment). This research has been partly supported by the European Social Fund (Project 09.3.3-LMT-K-712-01-0066) under grant agreement with the Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT). The study was also partly conducted within the frame of the project of the European Community European Regional Development Fund (EC ERDF) and PostDoc Latvia (Grant 1.1.1.2/VIAA/2/18/283). M.S. acknowledges the Academy of Finland (Project PS4A, Grant 318194). We thank the Department of Health and Rehabilitation of Vinnytsia Regional Council, Ukraine, for providing the numbers of COVID-19 cases. A.H.A. acknowledges Angel Chaves and the Government of Navarra: Institute of Public and Labor Health of Navarra, within LIFE-IP NAdatpa-CC (LIFE16 IPC/ES/000001). A.P. was supported by a predoctoral grant financed by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports of Spain, in the Program for the Promotion of Talent and its Employability (Grant FPU15/01668). B.S. acknowledges the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia (Grant 451-03-68/2020-14/200358). C.T.H. acknowledges the Christine Kühne–Center for Allergy Research and Education (CK-CARE), and The Initiative and Networking Fund of the Helmholtz Association (Immunology & Inflammation). We thank Jan Bumberger, Marcus Karsten, Paul Remmler, Jan C. Simon, and Regina Treudler for data provision and curation from Leipzig, Germany. We thank Claudia Langford Brown and Dana Flanders for statistical advice and scientific discussions. We thank Penelope Jones, Edith Bucher, Reyhan Gumusburun, Haydar Soydaner Karakus, Su Ozgur, and Asli Tetik Vardarli for data curation.

The article presents the findings, regarding the comparison between the pollen spectrum of the atmosphere in the area and the species composition of pollen emitting trees within the operating range of a Hirst-type volumetric air sampler. The research has revealed how local and transported pollen influence the pollen content of the atmospheric bioaerosol. Even though only a small number of birch trees grow in the area, its pollen proved to be prevalent in the pollen spectrum, while only an insignificant amount of Quercus pollen was detected due to the remoteness of its emission sources from the air sampler. Despite the fact that the highest number of trees in the immediate vicinity of the air sampler belong to the genus Tilia (linden), its pollen made up less than 1% of the pollen spectrum due to entomophily of these trees. Locations of tree pollen emission sources in the immediate vicinity of the Burkard spore and pollen trap were mapped out.

Ganoderma comprises a common bracket fungal genus that causes basal stem rot in deciduous and coniferous trees and palms, thus having a large economic impact on forestry production. We estimated pathogen abundance using long-term, daily spore concentration data collected in five biogeographic regions in Europe and SW Asia. We hypothesized that pathogen abundance in the air depends on the density of potential hosts (trees) in the surrounding area, and that its spores originate locally. We tested this hypothesis by (1) calculating tree cover density, (2) assessing the impact of local meteorological variables on spore concentration, (3) computing back trajectories, (4) developing random forest models predicting daily spore concentration. The area covered by trees was calculated based on Tree Density Datasets within a 30 km radius from sampling sites. Variations in daily and seasonal spore concentrations were cross-examined between sites using a selection of statistical tools including HYSPLIT and random forest models. Our results showed that spore concentrations were higher in Northern and Central Europe than in South Europe and SW Asia. High and unusually high spore concentrations (> 90th and > 98th percentile, respectively) were partially associated with long distance transported spores: at least 33% of Ganoderma spores recorded in Madeira during days with high concentrations originated from the Iberian Peninsula located >900 km away. Random forest models developed on local meteorological data performed better in sites where the contribution of long distance transported spores was lower. We found that high concentrations were recorded in sites with low host density (Leicester, Worcester), and low concentrations in Kastamonu with high host density. This suggests that south European and SW Asian forests may be less severely affected by Ganoderma. This study highlights the effectiveness of monitoring airborne Ganoderma spore concentrations as a tool for assessing local Ganoderma pathogen infection levels. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

High Ambrosia pollen concentrations in Poland rather rarely come from the local sources. The aim of this study was to define the temporal and spatial differences of the high Ambrosia pollen concentrations by creating models for the pollen transport from the distant sources. This study was thought to determine the direction of the air masses inflow into Poland, carrying Ambrosia pollen, from areas of the bordering countries with the pollen concentrations higher than iSTOTEN_n Poland. Pollen and meteorological datasets at 8 monitoring sites in Poland, and daily pollen concentrations at 11 sites in the Czech Republic, 5 sites in Slovakia and 3 sites in Ukraine were analysed recently. Days with concentrations ≥10 Pollen/m3 and concurrent meteorological situations were analysed in great deal. The HYSPLIT model was applied to compute backward trajectories up to 4 days backward (96 h) and at three altitudes: 20, 500 and 1000 m above ground level (a.g.l.). High pollen concentrations occur most frequently when the air masses inflow into Poland from southerly (S, SE, SW, 44%) and easterly (E, 6%) directions and in no advection situations (25%). In years with the highest frequency of days over 10 Pollen/m3, the prevailing directions of the pollen influx into Poland were from the South (2004–2006, 2008, 2011) but in one year (2014) from the East. Trajectories for the studied period show that air masses come most frequently from Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Sometimes, the Ambrosia pollen transport happens from Ukraine.

Airborne fungal spores are prevalent components of bioaerosols with a large impact on ecology, economy and health. Their major socioeconomic effects could be reduced by accurate and timely prediction of airborne spore concentrations. The main aim of this study was to create and evaluate models of Alternaria and Cladosporium spore concentrations based on data on a continental scale. Additional goals included assessment of the level of generalization of the models in space and description of the main meteorological factors influencing fungal spore concentrations. \ud Aerobiological monitoring was carried out at 18 sites in six countries across Europe over 3 to 21 years depending on site. Quantile random forest modelling was used to predict spore concentrations values. Generalization of the Alternaria and Cladosporium models was tested using (i) one model for all the sites, (ii) models for groups of sites, and (iii) models for individual sites.\ud The study revealed the possibility of reliable prediction of fungal spore levels using gridded meteorological data. The classification models also showed the capacity for providing larger scale predictions of fungal spore concentrations. Regression models were distinctly less accurate than classification models due to several factors, including measurement errors and distinct day-to-day changes of concentrations. Temperature and vapour pressure proved to be the most important variables in the regression and classification models of Alternaria and Cladosporium spore concentrations. \ud Accurate and operational daily-scale predictive models of bioaerosol abundances contribute to the assessment and evaluation of relevant exposure and consequently more timely and efficient management of phytopathogenic and of human allergic diseases.

The article deals with the main pollen spectrum in relation to patients’ sensitivity determined in the ambient air of Vinnitsa city located in central Ukraine. The study performed by gravimetric sampling in the years 1999–2000 and by volumetric sampling in the years 2009–2014 showed that Urtica, Betula, Pinus, Alnus, Fraxinus, Ambrosia, Artemisia, Juglans, Carpinus, Populus, Quercus, Acer, Salix, Poaceae, Amarathaceae, and Polygonaceae pollen grains are prevalent among the airborne allergen types in the urban atmosphere. The principal pollen types remain the same but over time their quantities have changed. The relative abundance of Carpinus and Amaranthaceae airborne pollen decreased while the fraction of Urtica pollen increased in the last decade. From 50 to 69 pollen types were determined in the ambient air depending on the season. From 24 to 27 pollen types represented woody plants and from 22 to 46 pollen types belonged to the herbaceous plants. A considerable decrease in herbal pollen types is noted in the Vinnitsa air at present.It was shown that children were sensitive to weed pollen grains, including ragweed, mugwort, and grass, while adults were more sensitive to tree and grass pollen grains. Further studies of the pollen spectrum in the ambient air of this city are required in order to control the hay fever symptoms.

The genus Leptosphaeria contains numerous fungi that cause the symptoms of asthma and also parasitize wild and crop plants. In search of a robust and universal forecast model, the ascospore concentration in air was measured and weather data recorded from 1 March to 31 October between 2006 and 2012. The experiment was conducted in three European countries of the temperate climate, i.e., Ukraine, Poland, and the UK. Out of over 150 forecast models produced using artificial neural networks (ANNs) and multivariate regression trees (MRTs), we selected the best model for each site, as well as for joint two-site combinations. The performance of all computed models was tested against records from 1 year which had not been used for model construction. The statistical analysis of the fungal spore data was supported by a comprehensive study of both climate and land cover within a 30-km radius from the air sampler location. High-performance forecasting models were obtained for individual sites, showing that the local micro-climate plays a decisive role in biology of the fungi. Based on the previous epidemiological studies, we hypothesized that dew point temperature (DPT) would be a critical factor in the models. The impact of DPT was confirmed only by one of the final best neural models, but the MRT analyses, similarly to the Spearman’s rank test, indicated the importance of DPT in all but one of the studied cases and in half of them ranked it as a fundamental factor. This work applies artificial neural modeling to predict the Leptosphaeria airborne spore concentration in urban areas for the first time. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00484-018-1500-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The article is devoted to the development of the decision support system for the classification of allergic pollen types based on fuzzy expert data of their features on the microscope images and the improvement of the identification method of this system. The genetic algorithm of the classifier training has been improved taking into account the spatial-temporal features of the distribution of pollen in the air, namely: adaptive fitness function for evaluating solutions, tournament selection with elitism and initialization of the initial population, allowing to improve the accuracy of classification. The example of the proposed system and method application based on real expert data of Vinnytsia monitoring station which is the part of European Aeroallergen Network is shown.

The drivers of spatial variation in ragweed pollen concentrations, contributing to severe allergic rhinitis and asthma, are poorly quantified. We analysed the spatiotemporal variability in 16-year (1995–2010) annual total (66 stations) and annual total (2010) (162 stations) ragweed pollen counts and 8 independent variables (start, end and duration of the ragweed pollen season, maximum daily and calendar day of the maximum daily ragweed pollen counts, last frost day in spring, first frost day in fall and duration of the frost-free period) for Europe (16 years, 1995–2010) as a function of geographical coordinates. Then annual total pollen counts, annual daily peak pollen counts and date of this peak were regressed against frost-related variables, daily mean temperatures and daily precipitation amounts. To achieve this, we assembled the largest ragweed pollen data set to date for Europe. The dependence of the annual total ragweed pollen counts and the eight independent variables against geographical coordinates clearly distinguishes the three highly infected areas: the Pannonian Plain, Western Lombardy and the Rhone-Alpes region. All the eight variables are sensitive to longitude through its temperature dependence. They are also sensitive to altitude, due to the progressively colder climate with increasing altitude. Both annual total pollen counts and the maximum daily pollen counts depend on the start and the duration of the ragweed pollen season. However, no significant changes were detected in either the eight independent variables as a function of increasing latitude. This is probably due to a mixed climate induced by strong geomorphological inhomogeneities in Europe.

Biological invasions are a major driver of global change, for which models can attribute causes, assess impacts and guide management. However, invasion models typically focus on spread from known introduction points or non-native distributions and ignore the transport processes by which species arrive. Here, we developed a simulation model to understand and describe plant invasion at a continental scale, integrating repeated transport through trade pathways, unintentional release events and the population dynamics and local anthropogenic dispersal that drive subsequent spread. We used the model to simulate the invasion of Europe by common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia), a globally invasive plant that causes serious harm as an aeroallergen and crop weed. Simulations starting in 1950 accurately reproduced ragweed's current distribution, including the presence of records in climatically unsuitable areas as a result of repeated introduction. Furthermore, the model outputs were strongly correlated with spatial and temporal patterns of ragweed pollen concentrations, which are fully independent of the calibration data. The model suggests that recent trends for warmer summers and increased volumes of international trade have accelerated the ragweed invasion. For the latter, long distance dispersal because of trade within the invaded continent is highlighted as a key invasion process, in addition to import from the native range. Biosecurity simulations, whereby transport through trade pathways is halted, showed that effective control is only achieved by early action targeting all relevant pathways. We conclude that invasion models would benefit from integrating introduction processes (transport and release) with spread dynamics, to better represent propagule pressure from native sources as well as mechanisms for long-distance dispersal within invaded continents. Ultimately, such integration may facilitate better prediction of spatial and temporal variation in invasion risk and provide useful guidance for management strategies to reduce the impacts of invasion.

Long-distance pollen transport can substantially raise local pollen levels, but their relative contribution has not yet been quantified temporally or spatially in ragweed infested regions. Using common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) pollen accumulation at a ragweed infested area, Szeged, Hungary as a test case, this study attempted to: (1) identify, using cluster analysis, biogeographical regions that contribute to long-range transport of ragweed pollen to Szeged; (2) quantify the relative contribution of ragweed pollen from these regions; (3) determine the relative contribution of “local” and “transported” pollen for Szeged. Using the HYSPLIT model, three-dimensional backward trajectories were produced daily over a 5-year period, 2009–2013 for ragweed pollen accumulation at Szeged. A k-means clustering algorithm using the Mahalanobis distance was applied in order to develop trajectory types. Nine back-trajectory clusters were identified. Cluster 1 (direction: from the Channel area south of Great Britain) and cluster 5 (direction: from Northern Mediterranean) were found the most relevant potential long-distance sources for Ambrosia pollen transport to Szeged. Potential source contribution function (PSCF) and concentration weighted trajectory (CWT) values indicated additional potential source areas including the central and eastern part of France, the northern part of Italy and the Carpathian Basin. For Szeged on non-rainy days, medium-range transport is important, while on rainy days the two transport ranges have equal weights. Based on the Granger causality, annual pollen amount transported by the atmospheric circulation is 27.8% of the annual total pollen at Szeged. From this quantity, 7.5% is added to (due to transport), while 20.3% is subtracted from (e.g. because of wash-out by frontal rainfalls going towards Szeged) local sources.

This paper presents the first ensemble modelling experiment in relation to birch pollen in Europe. The seven-model European ensemble of MACC-ENS, tested in trial simulations over the flowering season of 2010, was run through the flowering season of 2013. The simulations have been compared with observations in 11 countries, all members of the European Aeroallergen Network, for both individual models and the ensemble mean and median. It is shown that the models successfully reproduced the timing of the very late season of 2013, generally within a couple of days from the observed start of the season. The end of the season was generally predicted later than observed, by 5 days or more, which is a known feature of the source term used in the study. Absolute pollen concentrations during the season were somewhat underestimated in the southern part of the birch habitat. In the northern part of Europe, a record-low pollen season was strongly overestimated by all models. The median of the multi-model ensemble demonstrated robust performance, successfully eliminating the impact of outliers, which was particularly useful since for most models this was the first experience of pollen forecasting.

Spores of the genus Alternaria belong to one of the most prevailing constituents of the air in all regions of the world. They form infectious inoculum of numerous plant species as well as severe inhaled allergies. The aim of this study was to compare the biological pollution with Alternaria spores of the air of 12 cities located in central and eastern Europe. The experiment was done in 2010 and it covered the territory of Latvia (LV), Lithuania (LT), Poland (PL) and Ukraine (UA). The spores were counted using an identical method and standard equipment (7-day Lanzoni volumetric sampler) followed by extensive statistical calculations. The timing of the day of maximum concentration changed mainly along the N-S direction and had a positive correlation with latitude. The most important factor determining the increase in Alternaria spore concentration was the temperature, whereas other weather parameters were not related or of low significance. Regardless of geographical location, the first phase of the season (0-0.9 % of Alternaria spores in the air) was the longest (up to 60 days) and the last (97.5 to 99 %) was the shortest (22 days or less). The means of daily concentrations of Alternaria spores ranged from 11 spores m(-3) in Klaipeda (LT, Baltic Sea coast) to 187 in Poznan (west PL, agricultural plain). The threshold value of 80 spores m(-3) that triggers the first allergy symptoms was exceeded in 8 to 86 days (Vinnitsa, UA, temperate continental, forest-steppes region). There were considerable differences between the highest number of spores per cubic metre of air, varying from 139 in the north (Klaipeda, LT) to 2,295 in central west (Poznan, PL). The biological pollution by Alternaria spores in several places of central and eastern Europe was high; the number of days exceeding the threshold value of 300 spores m(-3) connected with serious health problems of atopic people ranged from 0 to 1 on the north (LV, LT) to 29 in central west (Poznan, PL).