Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35397611›Full record

ArticleAllergy, asthma, and clinical immunology : official journal of the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology2022

Sensitisation to Imbrasia belina (mopane worm) and other local allergens in rural Gwanda district of Zimbabwe.

Vuyelwa Ndlovu, Moses Chimbari, Pisirai Ndarukwa, Elopy Sibanda

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Allergy, asthma, and clinical immunology : official journal of the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 24% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Vuyelwa NdlovuSchool of Nursing and Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Howard College Campus, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa. vuyiendlovu@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0768-4655
Moses ChimbariSchool of Nursing and Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Howard College Campus, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
Pisirai NdarukwaSchool of Nursing and Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Howard College Campus, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
Elopy SibandaAsthma, Allergy and Immune Dysfunction Clinic, Twin Palms Medical Centre, 113 Kwame Nkrumah Avenue, Harare, Zimbabwe.
National University of Science and Technology · ZWBindura University of Science Education · ZWGreat Zimbabwe University · ZW

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe prevalence of allergic diseases is increasing in Zimbabwe and the data relate to local as well as exotic allergen sources. As entomophagy, the practice of eating insects, is a recognised source of local allergens, we sought to measure the prevalence of and risk factors for sensitisation to Imbrasia belina (mopane worm), a popular edible insect. This was investigated alongside other locally relevant allergens in a rural community in Gwanda district, south of Zimbabwe.

methodsA cross sectional study was conducted among 496 adults and children aged 10 years and above in Gwanda district, a mopane worm harvesting area in Zimbabwe. Data on individual characteristics and mopane worm exposure factors were collected using questionnaires. Sensitivity to allergens was assessed by performing skin prick tests at a local clinic using 10 different commercial allergen extracts (Stallergenes, France) and in-house extracts of mopane worm (Imbrasia belina) and mopane leaves (Colophospermum mopane). Data were analysed using Stata version 13 software.

resultsThe prevalence of sensitisation to at least one allergen was 31.17% (n = 144). The prevalence of atopy was higher in adults (33.33%) than in children (23.53%) (p = 0.059). The commonest inhalant allergen sources were mopane worm (14.29%), Tyrophagus putrescentiae (14.29%), mopane leaves (13.42%), Alternaria alternata (6.49%) and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (6.49%). Polysensitisation was demonstrated in the study population and of the 108 participants (75%) who were sensitised to two or more allergens, 66 (61%) were women. Sensitisation to mopane worm and mopane leaves often clustered with Tyrophagus putrescentiae amongst adults. Adjusted logistic regression analyses between mopane worm sensitisation and self-reported exposure variables showed that sensitisation was more likely amongst mopane worm harvesters (OR = 1.92, 95%CI = 0.77-4.79), those who cooked or roasted mopane worms during harvesting (OR = 2.69, 95%CI = 0.78-9.31) and harvesting without personal protective equipment (PPE) (OR = 2.12, 95%CI = 0.83-5.44) compared to non-harvesters.

conclusionAtopic sensitization was common in this mopane worm harvesting community in Gwanda district of Zimbabwe. There was frequent co-sensitisation of mopane worm and mopane leaves with Tyrophagus putrescentiae in children and adults. It is important to determine the clinical relevance of our findings, particularly relating to mopane worm sensitisation.

Indexed as

Allergic sensitisationEntomophagyMopane wormZimbabwe

Identifiers

PMID35397611
PMCPMC8994392
OpenAlexW4226185367

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.