Laura M. Moore, MD; Melinda McNeal Rathkopf, MDP; Carol J. Sanner, MS; Bonnie A. Whisman, MS; Jeffrey G. Demain, MD

Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol.2007;98:92-96

Food allergy occurs in up to 6% of children and 3.5% of adults, with the most common foods implicated in children being cow's milk, egg, wheat, and soy. However, because 85% of children outgrow their food allergies by 5 years of age, adults tend more often to be allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish with only the more severe allergies persisting into adulthood. Avoidance remains the treatment of choice until lack of specific IgE can be documented via skin prick testing (SPT)radioallergosorbet testing testing. We describe a patient with moderate anaphylaxis after indigestion of bowhead whale and bearded seal meat, 2 previously unreported food allergens. Because of the important dietary role of these meats for thousands of Alaskan natives, the medical consequences of their consumption merchants further research.