[LITTLE FIRE ANT (WASMANNIA AUROPUNCTATA) IN ISRAEL - FROM NUISANCE TO LIFE-THREATENING]

The little fire ant (LFA) is an invasive ant species, increasingly found in wide distribution in Israel. Although it's sting is painful and itchy, for the most part, no serious adverse effects have been reported so far. We describe the case of a young boy with recurrent, life threatening anaphylactic reactions after stings, all occurring during the summer months, in areas where LFA infestations have been identified. An ad hoc skin test, developed with the cooperation of the allergy and entomology team, identified an immediate IgE-mediated reaction to LFA whole body extract, present in our patients and absent in healthy controls. This report may be the first identifying the LFA as a potential cause of severe anaphylactic reactions, but unfortunately, given the wide spread of these pests, it may be that such unrecognized reactions have already been treated by medical teams and misclassified as idiopathic anaphylaxis.