1576 Networks for pollen and fungal spores monitoring: integrated approach to support health surveillance with regard to occupational allergies in italy

Introduction The purpose of national and international aerobiological networks is the monitoring of pollen and fungal spores in defined geographical areas, followed by the spreading of data regarding several seasonal species by the use of the bulletins and calendars. These data are usually available on line. Our proposal focuses on the integration of exposure data with health surveillance systems (ER visits and hospital admissions) and health surveillance practices in workers occupationally exposed to aeroallergens. Methods Within an Italian project funded by the Ministry of Health, the monitoring of environmental exposures, including pollen in relation to health outcomes is being set up to evaluate the effects and set up surveillance and prevention measures. For the major Italian cities, pollen data from the different monitoring networks and health outcome data to set up a rapid surveillance system with weekly updates on the potential health effects of pollen and fungal spores among vulnerable groups such as people suffering from allergies and respiratory conditions, children, workers etc. Results The results will help provide a rapid monitoring on the health effects of pollen exposure in 2017 in Italy. Specific focus will be on occupational exposure and subjects with asthma and allergic rhinitis. These findings will also serve as a basis for the setting up of specific epidemiological studies to increase the evidence on health risks and develop adequate prevention measures. Conclusion The optimisation of environmental and health data acquisition is of crucial importance for a proper analysis of trends regarding health outcomes in a number of subjects employed in different job sectors and with different job titles. Networks of data provided by several institutions may facilitate a better understanding of the results of epidemiological studies on occupational allergies, allowing a better study design in the case of both general populations and workers exposed to aeroallergens.