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Insect Allergy in Children

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Medical Immunology

  • 224 Accesses

Synonyms

Anaphylaxis; Hymenoptera allergy; Hymenoptera hypersensitivity; Insect allergy; Insect hypersensitivity; Systemic allergic reaction

Definition

Insect allergy is a severe, IgE-mediated, life-threatening reaction to a stinging Hymenoptera.

The life-threatening allergic condition anaphylaxis has three common triggers: food, medication, and venom from stinging insects. All three of these anaphylactic triggers are the sources of considerable morbidity and mortality in children, but only insect allergy is treatable through means other than trigger avoidance. In the United States, potentially life-threatening systemic anaphylactic reactions may occur in 0.4–0.8 % of children, compared to adults, which see rates up to 3 %. Proper evaluation and treatment can make insect allergy nearly curable, with venom immunotherapy providing up to a 98 % level of protection from future insect-related anaphylactic events (Valentine et al. 1990; Golden et al. 2011).

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA

    James M. Tracy

Authors
  1. James M. Tracy
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to James M. Tracy .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia

    Ian R. Mackay

  2. Center for Autoimmune Disease Research, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Noel R. Rose

  3. Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital, Tampa, FL, USA

    Dennis K. Ledford

  4. Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital, Tampa, FL, USA

    Richard F. Lockey

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Tracy, J.M. (2014). Insect Allergy in Children. In: Mackay, I.R., Rose, N.R., Ledford, D.K., Lockey, R.F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Medical Immunology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9194-1_199

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9194-1_199

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-9193-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9194-1

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