Scientists confirm that the common house dust mite is a major source of allergy causing dust indoors.
As early as 1694, scientists were observing mites in house dust. By 1923 doctors knew that they were involved in causing occupational asthma. However, it wasn’t until 1967 that confirmation came that they were a major source of allergens in house dust. Five years were to pass before doctors identified the droppings, not the mite, as the cause of allergy problems.
Reference ‘The house dust mite Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and the allergens it produces identify with the house dust allergens’, Voorhorst R, Spieksma I.Th.M., Varekamp H, Leupen MJ & Lyklema A W, 1967, J. Allergy, 39, pages 325 to 339
