Cross reactivity between Cow’s and Camel’s milk in the infant population of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Objective: One of the most common types of allergy in the early childhood is cow’s milk allergy (CMA). Patients suffering from CMA may show severe allergic responses and therefore they have to follow a strict diet. Camel’s milk is different in protein composition as compared to cow’s milk and could be used as its substitute. Thus, in the present study we tried to identify patients with CMA and camel milk allergy and their cross reactivity in the Saudi Arabian infant population. Method: The patients below 2 years of age and diagnosed with CMA were recruited from two different hospitals of Saudi Arabia. Also demographic data were collected for all the patients. Electronic chart were reviewed for food allergy, milk allergy and anaphylaxis shock using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) coding process. Results: A total of 112 patients were recruited for the study with male to female ratio of 1:33. The clinical presentations showed by the participants were atopic dermatitis (24%), chronic diarrhea (21%), anaphylaxis (16%), poor weight gain (16%), chronic vomiting (11%) and urticaria (5%). 108 patients showed positive results for Cow milk’s skin prick test and 2 patients showed positive Camel milk skin prick test. The cross reactivity between CMA and camel milk was low i.e., 108 to 2 prospectively. The Cow’s milk specific IgE was positive in 92% of participants with 25 ± 34 KU/L. Conclusion: If we can confirm positive CMA and confirm negative camel allergy by oral challenge, the results will be more reliable, and possibly we can determine the safety for suggesting camel milk for children suffering from CMA.