This Saturday, more than 50 volunteers joined the initiative of clearing habitats of ragweed in Osijek, organized by the Croatian Society for Allergology and Clinical Immunology and JGL as part of the Allergic to Allergies initiative.
With the help of employees of the UNIKOM company for utility management in Osijek, the volunteers cleared the area of the eastern part of the campus of the University of Osijek for more than three hours. The final result was a clear area of 5000 square meters where this plant, whose pollen is one of the most dangerous allergens in Europe, was spread.
Višnja Prus, PhD, the head of the Clinical Department of Immunology and Allergology at the Clinical Hospital Centre Osijek, said that almost thirty percent of the inhabitants of the European continent suffers from the allergy to ragweed pollen, and Osijek is one of the cities in Croatia that are threatened the most by this plant.
"People susceptible to ragweed pollen suffer from a whole range of symptoms, itching of the face and eyes, coughing, sneezing and nasal discharge. The period of ragweed bloom is quite difficult for them, but can be alleviated with medication. However, the best prevention of ragweed allergy is as little pollen exposure as possible, and this is possible if we eradicate it, as in this initiative", said Dr. Prus.
Dea Demić, Head of Corporate Communications in JG, pointed out that the location that was cleared by volunteers on Saturday was found thanks to the Allergic app, which can be used to geolocate ragweed habitats. "From the very beginning, JGL has been supporting the Allergic to Allergies initiative, with the aim of raising awareness of the dangers of ragweed, as well as the possibilities of alleviating its symptoms. We also want to take this opportunity to call on other citizens to continue using the Allergic app to free Croatia from this allergen", said Demić.
The Mayor of Osijek, Ivica Vrkić, also supported this imitative, reminding his fellow citizens of their obligation to remove ambrosia from their yards and gardens and announcing new clearing initiatives.
The Allergic app is available at the link for iOS and Android mobile devices.