Allergy to stinging and biting insects in Queensland

Over an eight and a half year period 742 patients were assessed for allergy to stinging and biting insects in Queensland; 452 (61%) had allergic reactions to honey bees, 244 (33%) to wasps, 30 (4%) to various ants, 11 (1.5%) to march flies (Tabanus sp.) and five to tick infestation. One hundred and fifty one patients (20%) presented with large local swelling only (RXN1), 98 (13%) with urticaria and/or facial angioedema distant from the sting site (RXN2) and 492 (66%) with subjective or objective evidence of dyspnoea or hypotension (RXN3). Allergy testing was performed with honey bee and wasp venoms by skin testing or by Radioallergosorbent testing. Fifty nine patients (30%) with RXN3 responses to wasps failed to react to either test, while this applied to only 19 (6%) of the patients with RXN3 responses to bee stings. Thus, a large number of wasp-allergic patients with RXN3 responses could not be offered immunotherapy. A similar problem exists in the lack of availability of specific reagents for anti- and tick-induced dyspnoea or hypotension. A whole-body insect extract of march fly, however, appears useful.