Abstract
The number of fish allergy patients in Japan is increasing. At Watanabe Kodomo Clinic in Sapporo we have seen 70 cases between 1982 and 1999. While many patients' clinical symptoms indicated the immediate response types of reaction, incidents of non-immediate response types are on the rise.
In nearly all of these cases, patients exhibited positive skin reactions to both food allergens (specifically fish) and to airborne allergens as well.
In every case, the patient was below the age of six months. Most commonly, the fish that elicited reactions were cod, salmon and mackerel. After food provocation tests, patients exhibited a variety of symptoms, including urticaria, itching throat, laryngeal edema and others. Hypersensitivity to fish has been noted as an etiologic factor in a large subset of children with aseptic dermatitis.
