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Feeding insects for reptiles are clear allergy triggers
Allergies can have many triggers. Pollen allergy and hay fever are widespread in this country. Austrian scientists now report a very unusual trigger. In a small boy, allergic reactions were caused by feeding locusts for reptiles.
Unusual allergy trigger
According to experts, nearly 30 million pets live alone in German households. The majority of them are cats and dogs. But also snakes or turtles are popular with many Germans. Some pets can make us sick if we do not follow proper hygiene rules. Austrian researchers have now reported a very unusual case in which pets were a health hazard. The scientists from Vienna found that feed locusts for a pet kept reptile were the allergen source in an eight-year-old boy. The experts advise caution in view of the increasing popularity of the reptiles.
Feeding grasshoppers for reptiles can trigger allergies. (Image: Michael Tieck / fotolia.co) Reptiles as pets are becoming increasingly popular
Reptiles as pets are becoming increasingly popular in many countries. Since some animals are at risk of infection, experts have pointed out in the past that reptile owners must pay attention to hygiene. According to a report by the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, the number of lizards, turtles or snakes in European households has doubled in the last ten years. Families therefore often opt specifically for a reptile, if there is an allergy risk in contact with dogs, cats or guinea pigs.
Little boy reacted with severe symptoms
In the case of the little boy from Vienna, this was apparently no solution. As reported on the internet portal of the "ORF", occurred at the 8-year-old four months after the purchase of a bearded dragon - a lizard species - nocturnal seizures of severe respiratory distress. The cause was not discovered for a long time. At an initial diagnosis, doctors used pseudo-squat, respiratory tract infection, and severe asthma attacks. The allergist Erika Jensen-Jarolim and her colleagues from the Messerli Research Institute of the Vetmeduni considered a pet allergy. However, they also tested the food for the lizard. "We were in the middle of a study investigating allergen sources in pet stores. That's how we came across the food of the reptiles by accident, "explained Jensen-Jarolim.
Grasshopper allergens identified as triggers
Locust allergens could finally be identified as triggers by an allergy test and detection of specific antibodies. The team now reported on the new findings in the journal "World Allergy Organization Journal". On the advice of researchers, the reptile was removed from the household, the symptoms subsided. Four years later, the child again accidentally expelled the allergen and reacted again with an allergic asthmatic reaction. According to Jensen-Jarolim, the fact that feed insects pose a certain risk of allergy is "still too little known". Perhaps the case described is only the tip of an iceberg.
Do not keep reptiles in living areas
"Increasingly, the attitude toward reptiles is changing from hobbyism and biological interest to a human-animal relationship with an emotional component. The number of household reptiles and food animals can only be estimated and the number of unreported cases is high, "says the researcher. Reptile food should be kept outside the home. According to the scientists, the animals themselves should not be kept in living quarters, as undigested insects enter the terrarium via the excretions of the reptiles. "With our publication, we want to make the public aware of the topic. We are particularly interested in pet owners, employees in pet shops, but also doctors, who should routinely include a question about reptile husbandry and related food animals in their allergy diagnosis interview, "Jensen-Jarolim said. (Ad)