Childhood seafood allergy study yields interesting findings

Seafood allergy is a significant cause of anaphylaxis in many parts of the world. Researchers based in Sydney, Australia have described the characteristics of a large cohort of children who presented at the Children's Hospital at Westmead between 2006 and 2009 with seafood allergy.

Over half (62%) of the cohort of 167 children were boys, and almost all (94%) had evidence of co-existent atopic disease. One-fifth of the children in the cohort presented at the hospital with a history of anaphylaxis to seafood, with prawn or shrimp being the type of seafood most commonly implicated in the allergic reaction. More than half of the children who were allergic to crustacea did not react to non-crustacean fish, while in children allergic to fish, sensitization to other fish species was very common, and 16% developed symptoms after being in contact with fish vapours.

At least 21% of children with allergy to tuna and/or salmon were able to tolerate the fish in a tinned form.

Reference: Turner et al. 2011. Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. DOI:10.1016/j.anai.2011.02.001