Prevalence of asthma in the South Fore people of the Okapa District of Papua New Guinea. Features associated with a recent dramatic increase.

The prevalence of asthma in a population of the South Fore linguistic group of the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea has shown a remarkable increase in the last decade and is now 7.3% in adults and 0.6% in children. Allergy to house dust mite appears to play a major role in the disease pathogenesis. The low childhood prevalence may be associated with endemic parasitism which operates by suppressing production of IgE antibodies to ubiquitous allergens. This suppression is significantly correlated with age in boys of 6-20 years, but not for girls who retain low serum titres throughout the entire age range. Bronchial reactivity, assessed by histamine inhalation test, does not identify asymptomatic children who may be potential asthmatic subjects suggesting that, in this population, bronchial hyperreactivity follows the development of immunological hypersensitivity.