Crickets are arthropods that belong to the Orthoptera order and insect class. These insects are non-stinging and not harmful to humans, and they rarely cause allergic reactions. Although crickets are considered good luck pets in some countries, they are popular as a live food source for carnivorous pets. Most of the cases of hypersensitivity to these insects are related to occupational diseases –mainly asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis- in animal shop workers. We present a case of contact urticaria after handling crickets: a 26-year-old man with previous history of seasonal rhinoconjunctivitis, attended our medical office complaining of contact urticaria after handling crickets, which were used as food for the lizard he had at home as a pet.
Methods:
Skin prick tests (SPT) to commercial common aeroallergens were performed. Prick by prick test with cricket, and with small round balls of cricket feces obtained from the bedding material were carried out. Protein extracts from cricket (CK) and cricket feces (CKF) were prepared. Serum specific IgE levels against CK and CKF (EAST technique) were measured. All the extracts were analyzed by SDS-PAGE immunoblotting with the patient’s serum.
Results:
SPT were positive to grass pollen and cat and dog epithelium. Prick by prick tests were positive (wheal >3mm) to CK and CKF. Serum specific IgE against CK and CKF was 0.6 kU/L and <0.35 kU/L respectively, and total IgE was 420 UI/ml. Immunoblotting with the patient’s serum indicated IgE reactivity with a 35, 26 and 18 kDa protein in the CK extract. No bands were detected in the CKF extract.
Conclusions:
We present a case of IgE-mediated contact allergy to cricket with no respiratory symptoms related, involving several proteins. Not only pets are cause of allergies. Sometimes, what surrounds our pets is what causes our symptoms.