People who have asthma and other respiratory illnesses, such as allergic rhinitis , will be able to breathe a bit easier with South African scientists now using artificial intelligence to detect and classify pollen spores in real-time, which may improve the forecasting of bioaerosols that trigger these illnesses.
“Up to now, scientists have manually counted airborne pollen and spore types using volumetric air samplers that suck air from the environment, collecting the particles it traps on adhesive tape, which are then analysed under a microscope by a pollen expert. However, the process is cumbersome and costly. With the latest developments in image recognition methods and machine learning, automating this process has become feasible,” says Peter.
Two AI counters have already been set up in Pretoria and Kimberley, with two more in Cape Town and Durban coming online soon. Bloemfontein and Johannesburg will follow in the next few weeks. Peter says this year’s pollen season depends largely on the weather, but that hay fever sufferers can expect higher than normal grass counts. “We are already seeing high tree counts in Cape Town, with exceptionally high tree counts in Bloemfontein.”The El Niño weather phenomenon, which is expected to make its way to South Africa later this spring, could also influence the timing and severity of this year’s allergy season.
He adds that in addition to the SAPNET providing allergy sufferers with up-to-date pollen counts, its recent partnership with the South African Weather Service will also give the public and healthcare practitioners access to information related to air pollution, which includes carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, and ozone, all of which are linked to the worsening of allergic diseases.