A 10-year-old girl suffered an unexpected anaphylactic reaction when eating blueberry pie, despite not being allergic to any of the ingredients or anything the pie may have been contaminated by. The child has known allergies to milk and penicillin, as well as seasonal allergies and asthma, but doctors were initially baffled when the pie was tested and found to contain none of the allergens. Further tests on the girl concluded she was also not allergic to blueberries, nuts, or eggs. Finally, after extensive testing, doctors now think the culprit was a pesticide used on the berries.
"As far as we know, this is the first report that links an allergic reaction to fruits treated with antibiotic pesticides," reports lead study author, Anne Des Roches, MD, FRCP. Although it's a rare case, doctors feel the connection is worthy of note, and feel that the specific pesticide (streptomycin) triggered the little girl's anaphylactic reaction. Could it have been the girl's existing penicillin allergy that made her more susceptible to reacting to this particular pesticide? Pesticides are still very commonly used in agriculture in Canada (and the U.S.), despite being banned in other countries.
This is yet another situation that underlines the importance of always carrying epinephrine auto-injectors when there are known allergies. You never know where you could run into a hidden allergen.
In other strange allergy news, did you know you could be allergic to your iPad? And did you know a bite from this bug can turn you into a vegetarian?
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