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Case Report
 

Selective Hypersensitivity to Boiled Razor Shell
 

C Martín-García,1 J Carnés,2 R Blanco,3 JC Martínez-Alonso,1 A Callejo-Melgosa,1 A Frades,1 T Colino1

1Allergy Unit, Hospital Virgen de la Concha, Zamora, Spain
2Department of Research and Development, Laboratorios LETI, Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain
3Allergy Unit, Hospital Nuestra Señora de Sonsoles, Ávila, Spain

J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol 2007; Vol. 17(4): 271-273
 

 Abstract

 

Many types of seafood require cooking before ingestion and it has been demonstrated that this cooking process may affect the antigenicity and allergenicity of the food. We describe a case of anaphylaxis caused by selective sensitization to razor shell, a mollusc. In vivo and in vitro studies confi rmed sensitization to boiled razor shell. Analysis of the nature of the allergen yielded results that were consistent with
the findings of other authors and suggested that allergens involved in seafood allergy are commonly high molecular weight proteins that, in most cases, are heat stable.

Key words: Shellfish. Razor shell. Boiled razor shell. Food allergy. Ensis macha.