Indoor allergens and endotoxins in relation to cockroach infestations in low-income urban homes.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cockroach allergens are well recognized as important risk factors in the development and prevalence of allergic rhinitis and asthma in children, especially in low-income urban households. The German cockroach gut hosts a diverse community of highly abundant microbes, including gram-negative bacteria that shed large amounts of endotoxins in cockroach feces.

Objective

We sought to delineate the causal relationship between the presence of cockroaches in homes and levels of household endotoxins.

Methods

In laboratory assays, we measured the amount of endotoxin produced by cockroaches. In-home monitoring estimated the size of the cockroach population in each home and quantified cockroach allergen Bla g 2 and endotoxin levels in household dust and on heating, ven

SUBMITTER: Kakumanu ML 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12593632 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature