Aaaa-tishoo!
We’re sorry to break the bad news, but ragweed, a nasty allergenic weed from North America, has arrived in SA. The discovery was made by Dr Dilys Berman, an aerobiologist at UCT, and Professor Jonny Peter, who heads up the UCT Lung Institute’s allergy unit. Increasing amounts of fine-powder ragweed could exacerbate hay fever symptoms and asthma for the estimated 17 million South Africans who suffer from allergies. Given that it’s highly allergenic, people who normally don’t suffer from pollen allergies may develop a sensitivity to it in the future as the weed proliferates. View pollen counts for SA at pollencount.co.za.