Beef Meat Allergy in Cow’s Milk Allergic Adults

Abstract

Milk has been recognized as a leading cause of food allergy in children; however, studies on cow’s milk allergy (CMA) in adults are scanty. The known cross-reactivity of bovine serum albumin and bovine γ-globulin which are present in both milk and beef is recognized, so that, patients with allergy to cow’s milk are often instructed to avoid beef. Our Objective was to determine the prevalence of allergy to beef meat in adult patients with allergy to cow’s milk. Thirty adults with CMA were included in the study. The diagnosis of cow’s milk and beef allergy was based on a thorough history concerning type of allergic symptoms and its link to the ingestion of milk and beef supported by skin prick test (SPT) with fresh milk and raw beef extracts and by determination of their serum specific IgE by enzyme linked immuosorbant assay (ELISA). Finally, cross reactivity test between milk and meat was performed. Three of 30 patients (10%) evaluated for CMA were found to have symptomatic sensitivity to beef, 2 gave urticarial symptoms and one gave gastrointestinal symptoms. Six patients (20%) had a positive SPT response to beef. On the other hand, beef specific IgE were positive in 18 CMA patients (60%). Concordance of positive specific IgE and SPT to meat was found in only 5 patients (17%). Mean cross reactivity between milk and beef was 31.6 ± 13.1% among studied patients. Patients allergic to milk protein are not necessarily to be allergic to beef, so, elimination of beef from the diet of adults with CMA should not be done except after investigations so as not to lose its nutritional value without benefit.