Reptile pets: Food insects shuttle allergens into homes

Date: October 30, 2015

Source: University of Veterinary Medicine -- Vienna

Reptiles are often chosen as pets when an allergy risk exists within a family and the choice is made to avoid potentially allergenic pets such as dogs, cats or guinea pigs. Researchers at the Messerli Research Institute, however, recently described a noteworthy clinical case in which an eight-year-old boy developed nightly attacks of severe shortness of breath four months after the purchase of a bearded dragon.

The cause for the allergic reaction turned out not to be the lizard itself but the animal's food. The grasshoppers used to regularly feed the lizard were revealed to be the source of the allergy.

First author Erika Jensen-Jarolim speaks of the tip of an iceberg: "Even colleagues with allergologic expertise could overlook insects as reptile food as a possible cause of such allergic reactions. Far too little is known about grasshoppers as a potential allergenic source in homes. We do know of cases, however, in which fish food has caused allergies. And insects are often processed in fish food."

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