Camel milk: a possible alternative for children with cow's milk allergy?

Cow's milk protein allergy (CwMPA) is the most common food allergy during early childhood and its therapy consists in the elimination of cow's milk proteins (CwMP) from the diet and the introduction of alternative formulas. Evidence about clinical use of camel's milk (CM) in CwMPA in children is scarce. The aim of this study was to determine the entity of cross-sensitization between CM and CwM in children with CwMPA.

This prospective study was performed in children affected by CwMPA. We evaluated skin prick tests (SPT) for CwM, CwMP (alpha-lactalbumin [ALA], beta-lactoglobulin [BLG] and casein [CAS]) and CM and serum levels of CwM, ALA, BLG, CAS-sIgE.

Sixty-seven children with CwMPA were included in this study: twenty-one resulted SPT+ to CM. Mean wheal diameters towards raw CwM, ALA, BLG and CAS resulted significantly larger in the CM SPT+ group than in the CM SPT- group (P<0.02). Likewise, mean IgE titers against CwM, ALA and CAS were significantly higher in the CM SPT+ group than in the CM SPT-group (P<0.01). The mean wheal diameter towards raw CwM was significantly larger than that towards CM (P<0.0001).

This study confirms the presence of cross-sensitization between CwM and CM that remains lower if compared to other mammalian milks. Small wheals at the SPT towards CwM antigens together with low IgE titers against them could work as predictors in selecting patients that are expected to have negative CM SPT and then could be fed with CM with lower risks of allergic reactions.