Hamburg - Health authorities throughout Central Europe are
issuing warnings against a virulent new menace from the United States
which is advancing rapidly across the continent - ragweed.
In the style of Wild West 'wanted' posters, authorities in
Germany, Austria, Switzerland and adjacent countries are posting
photographs of ragweed plants on lampposts, internet websites and on
television shows.
'Ragweed conquers Germany,' a headline in a Hamburg newspaper
screamed this week over an article quoting Dr Beate Jessel, head of
Germany's Federal Office of Nature Conservation, as saying that
ragweed infestations had been reported in two-thirds of all state and
local districts across Germany.
Meanwhile, physicians and hospitals are being told to be on the
watch for an onslaught of patients with severe asthma and hay
fever-induced allergic respiratory spasms.
Municipal governments are training their street crews in effective
methods of combatting the weed, which often goes unrecognized by
Europeans.
'Some gardeners naively think it is an attractive plant and give
it water and fertilizer in their front gardens,' says Susanne Schwarz
of Berlin's Health Department.
'They should be eradicating this menace instead,' she adds. 'Best
thing to do is pull it out by the roots and burn it, since the seeds
can remain fertile for up to 40 years.'
In Germany, ragweed is called 'ambrosia,' which is from the
plant's botanical name, Ambrosia artemisiifolia.
'Ambrosia sounds sweet and lovely, but few people in Europe
realize just how serious the ragweed threat is to their health.'
Ragweed is the leading cause of late-summer hay fever in North
America. It is estimated that more than 20 per cent of all Americans
suffer from ragweed allergy to some extent or other.
Ragweed pollen first found its way from the US to Europe aboard
ships in the 19th century, where it found an ideal climate - warm and
not too moist - along the Mediterranean coast.
But with summers becoming warmer and drier in Northern Europe,
botanists say ragweed is spreading northward. The fall of the Iron
Curtain has accelerated its spread, as pollen 'hitchhikes' its way
through the Balkans and into Central and Northern Europe aboard
trucks, trains and river barges.
This year most of Europe experienced an unusually hot and dry
summer, meaning that ragweed is blossoming rampantly along the sides
of motorways and city streets as far north as Denmark.
Doctors have reported an alarming increase in patients suffering
from severe hay fever and asthma. Along with the combination of hot
days, recent cooler temperatures and a mild wind, the allergen has
Europeans coughing, sneezing and wheezing.
In many cases, people who have never suffered from hay fever in
their lives have suddenly been forced to consult physicians for
allergy symptoms.
'Ragweed is very potent. Any amount in the air will start people
with symptoms,' says Dr Stefan Nawrath, an allergy expert at the
University of Frankfurt.
'Exposure to ragweed could cause symptoms for up to six or eight
hours. By that time you're probably exposed to it again,' Nawrath
says.
Allergy experts say allergens can be eaten, inhaled or injected as
with an insect sting. Common allergens are pollen grains, dust, mold
and food, as well as animal proteins found on hair, fur and dander.
Allergens are measured by grains per cubic metre of air per day. A
typical person breathes about 10 cubic metres of air per day. During
a high allergy season the air will typically contain between 1,000
and 8,000 grains per cubic meters.
The annoying, cold-like symptoms (without a fever) are the body's
attempt to cleanse itself of the allergens.
The most common symptoms of a ragweed allergy are itchy eyes,
stuffy nose, coughing and wheezing. Sufferers may have one or all
symptoms. It all comes down to genetics.
'People who are allergic do have allergic parents, one or two,'
Nawrath says. 'In other words, 15 to 20 per cent of people become
allergic.'
Authorities in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Saxony and various
provinces in Austria have launched concerted campaigns to educate the
public to the ragweed threat and to eradicate the plant from
roadsides.
Radio and television messages urge residents to wash their hair
before going to bed to get any pollen out, and not to hang clothes
out on the line, to close windows and use air-conditioning when
driving, and to stay indoors at peak hours, particularly first thing
in the morning.
There are also a variety of over-the-counter and prescription
medications available to help allergies and Europeans are being
advised to consult doctors for allergy tests and possible therapies.
'We are fighting an uphill battle,' says Werner Franke, the chief
noxious plants control officer for the German state of
Baden-Wuerttemberg. 'Ragweed spreads like wildfire and it has the
advantage of being virtually unknown in Europe. So people stop and
admire its unusual green flowers and only wonder afterwards why they
are sneezing.'
The health alerts in Europe coincided with headlines from Seattle,
where a woman found a mammoth ragweed plant in her back garden that
towered three metres tall.
The experts identified it as Ambrosia trifida, as it's known in
scholarly circles, a species that can grow nearly five metres tall
and is a hay fever sufferer's worst nightmare.
'If we don't act fast, ragweed will spread its way all across
Europe and then there will be no stopping it,' Franke warns.
USA
Your Talkback on this Story