Low uptake of treatment options for insect venom allergies * Patients need better information

Vienna (Austria) June 12th (PROTEXT/ots) - An insect venom allergy can befatal. The good news is that that this condition responds well totherapeutic management. Patients who receive causal treatment in the formof specific immunotherapy (SIT) have an almost 100 percent chance of acure. "Despite its proven tolerability and efficacy, SIT uptake rates aremuch too low. It's probably because patients are not well enough informed,"concluded Franziska Ruëff, an insect venom allergy expert with theDermatology Department of Munich University Hospital, in her presentationat the 25 Congress of the European Academy of Allergology and ClinicalImmunology (EAACI) in Vienna.

Insect venom allergies are caused by an excessive immune response, usuallyto a wasp or bee sting. The possible consequences include itching and rashon the palms of the hand and soles of the feet, difficulty breathing,vertigo and nausea. Some allergy sufferers develop life-threateninganaphylactic shock. Assay of specific IgE antibodies and prick tests woulddetect sensitization to insect venom in an estimated 25% of the Europeanpopulation. Five percent of the population develop serious or indeedlife-threatening symptoms. Reported prevalences of insect venom allergiesrange from 0.34 to 7.5 percent in different parts of Europe.(1) In spite ofthe potentially life-threatening consequences, only one in five allergysufferers undergoes specific immunotherapy (SIT) to treat their condition.

Ruëff presented data from an international multicenter observational studyinvestigating diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in a number of Europeancountries. This study disclosed regional differences in the distribution ofwasp and bee venom allergies and differences with respect to thetolerability of the allergen products used. Wasp venom allergies are morecommon in Germany, while the incidence of positive prick test responses tobee venom is higher in Austria and Switzerland. The study also showed thatthe products used for anti-bee venom allergy SIT are less well toleratedand less effective than products for wasp venom allergy. "The statistics onefficacy and tolerability of SIT differ in various European countries.There are also major differences in the therapeutic approaches employed.This might explain the more reserved attitude toward SIT in some countries,such as Switzerland, Austria, and indeed southern Germany," Ruëff stated.One of the surprising outcomes of the study was the very marked reluctanceof sufferers to seek treatment, including people with major risk factors."Only 80 percent of people with insect venom allergies in our studies wereprepared to undergo this potentially life-saving treatment. Better and moreextensive information on the hazards and the treatment options from primarycare physicians would help to address this problem," allergologistFranziska Ruëff from Munich University noted.

(1) Biló BM, Ruëff F, et al. Diagnosis of Hymenoptera venom allergy. Allergy 2005: 60: 1339-1349

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