Cat allergic people may also be allergic to pork and other meats

A study presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology has shown that people with allergies to cat may also be allergic to pork and other meats because of a rare type of cross-reactive allergy known as pork cat syndrome. New to the US, this type of allergy has been present in Europe since the late 1990s.

The study looks at six cases of the syndrome, five of whom were female and whose average age was 28 years. Their blood tests showed that all of the people tested positive for both pork and cat antibodies, one person had had an itchy mouth after eating pork, three had had hives and two had suffered anaphylaxis.

Researchers from the University of Virginia where the study was carried out said that people had had inconsistent reactions to eating meat and a wide variety of symptoms. They recommend more research to better understand the syndrome.

Source: Web MD

Source: American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology under peer review process

First published in November 2011

 

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