Washington: Seafood lovers who have had an allergic reaction to fish or shellfish may soon be able to still enjoy their favourite fare, thanks to a new research.
The research, led by Andreas Lopata of James Cook University, has been launched to help narrow down particular seafood species which are more prone to cause allergic reactions in people.
"Once people develop seafood allergies, they will not grow out of it. It's not like milk or egg, where children can develop allergies which can disappear. With fish or shellfish, you have the allergy for life.
"However, we are working on narrowing down which species may be more prone to spark a reaction in those more susceptible," he said.
He said that seafood allergies affect millions around the world, with up to 50 per cent of Asian children reacting badly, yet there were only a handful of researchers working in the area.
"Research shows seafood allergic reactions are as common as peanut allergy, if not more so, yet peanut research is dominant. The rate of allergic reaction depends on eating habits," he said.
Dr Lopata said there was no straightforward answer yet as to why people were, or became, allergic to food or in particular seafood.
"We do know there are two components, or causes. Firstly, people can have a genetic pre-disposition to an allergy. If one parent is allergic, there is a 30 per cent chance their kids will be allergic too.
"If both parents are allergic, it rises to a 70 per cent chance their child will have an allergy. Secondly, environmental factors also trigger a pre-disposition, such as household mite exposure.”
“There is strong evidence to suggest that those who're allergic to household mites also display a hypersensitivity to shellfish. 98 per cent of people don't and never will react to seafood protein but those who do will be part of our research, to help develop vaccines in future," he said.
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