The patient was working in the pork processing industry and suffered from asthma, urticaria and rhinitis upon exposure to pork meat. She did also not tolerate ingestion of pork. The patient changed the workplace in the company and became free of symptoms. However three years later, she suffered from severe allergic reactions after ingestion of cooked chicken leg. Meat proteins were purified and the N-terminus of IgE reactive proteins was determined. The allergens were identified as chicken hemoglobin and chicken serum albumin.
We could demonstrate that porcine and chicken hemoglobin are cross-reactive allergens. The sensitization to chicken meat was linked to the prior allergy to pork.
The study was performed in collaboration with the Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg.
Reference:
C. Hilger, K. Swiontek, F. Hentges, C. Donnay, F. de Blay, G. Pauli. Occupational inhalant allergy to pork followed by food allergy to pork and chicken. Sensitization to hemoglobin and serum albumin. International Archives of Allergy and Immunology 2010;151:173-178