Over a hundred people joined the public health action in Zagreb that involved testing for the ragweed allergen as part of the "Allergic to Allergies" project, carried out by the Croatian Society for Allergology and Clinical Immunology in cooperation with Jadran galenski laboratorij (JGL).
Hundreds of citizens also took part in the game of recognizing ragweed and downloaded the "Allergic" app, which uses the users' photos and geolocation to help detect and eliminate the dangerous allergen.
"Ragweed allergies affect around thirty percent of the population in Europe, which is why the Croatian Society for Allergology and Clinical Immunology decided to launch the 'Allergic to Allergies' initiative, so as to help reduce the exposure of our fellow citizens to one of the most dangerous allergens," said Asja Stipić Marković, President of the Society.
For the second year in a row, the Croatian Society for Allergology and Clinical Immunology and JGL have aimed to raise awareness of the dangers of ragweed allergies, by promoting the use of the "Allergic" app and inviting citizens and local self-government units to regularly maintain areas where ragweed tends to grow.
The people of Zagreb had the opportunity to learn what ragweed looks like using a simple test, and all of the participants that were successful in recognising the plant received a small gift from JGL.