Nearly a billion people worldwide suffer from some form of allergy, and as far as Montenegro is concerned, most citizens are allergic to ambrosia, grass and tree pollen.
This was announced during today's meeting "Allergenic plants - monitoring and impact on health", organized on the occasion of the installation of a national network of stations for measuring the amount of allergenic pollen in the air.
Internist and allergist Denisa Dizdarević assessed that excessive urbanization and overly sterile conditions have led to an increase in allergic diseases.
"Until the 19th century, these were rare diseases, and in the last 50 years we have been faced with an epidemic. There are now 500 million people suffering from allergic rhinitis and 300 million people suffering from allergic asthma, and children are especially at risk," said Dizdarević.
According to her, ragweed has the largest share in seasonal allergies.
"The schedule would be something like this: 10 to 20 percent of people are allergic to tree pollen, 30 to 40 to grass pollen, which are strong allergens, and 40 to 60 percent to ragweed and weed pollen. Allergies are more common today due to rapid industrialization and increased levels of air pollution and lifestyle changes," said Dizdarević.
Mirjana Mitrović-Josipović, head of the national monitoring of allergenic pollen monitoring in Serbia, explained that five measuring stations have been set up in Montenegro, taking into account the plants that are characteristic of biodiversity.
"Pollen concentration of 26 allergenic species will be measured, two more than in Serbia, namely olive and hedge. The measuring points are located in Podgorica, Tivat, Nikšić, Bar and Mojkovac. Reporting will be on a weekly basis, and one device in ideal conditions covers a radius of 50 kilometers, so the current coverage of the Montenegrin territory is very adequate," she said.
Mitrović-Josipović said that the collection of data on cypress and pine pollen has already begun, so that people allergic to these types of pollen can soon have information.
"The first results of the measurements can be known as early as next week. Due to the specificity of the climate on the coast, pollen will be measured throughout the year, and the other stations will be measured from the beginning of February to mid-November," she said, adding that of the 24 allergenic plants that are measured in Serbia, ragweed has the most allergenic influence - 50 percent. , grass pollen 20 percent, and birch 30 percent.
The director of the Environmental Protection Agency, Ervin Spahić, said that the goal of the project, given that a large number of citizens have problems with seasonal allergies, is to provide information on the study and monitoring of pollen in the air, which will enable prevention, diagnostics, and therefore faster and better treatment of ailments.
"On the agency's website, there will also be a pollen calendar that will provide significant help in planning the activities of citizens and competent services, primarily for the destruction of weeds and grasses during the flowering period.
The project was supported by the Global Fund for the Environment, the Center for Sustainable Development, the Institute for Hydrometeorology and Seismology, the natural history museums in Podgorica and Belgrade, and the Environmental Agency from Serbia," said Spahić.
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