Poultry meat allergy is a rare
food allergy
A food allergy is an abnormal immune response to food. The symptoms of the allergic reaction may range from mild to severe. They may include itchiness, swelling of the tongue, vomiting, diarrhea, hives, trouble breathing, or low blood pressur ...
in humans caused by consumption of poultry meat (commonly
chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...
and
turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
) whereby the body triggers an immune reaction and becomes overloaded with
immunoglobulin E
Immunoglobulin E (IgE) is a type of antibody (or immunoglobulin (Ig) " isotype") that has been found only in mammals. IgE is synthesised by plasma cells. Monomers of IgE consist of two heavy chains (ε chain) and two light chains, with the Π...
(IgE) antibodies.
It can co-occur with
egg allergy
Egg allergy is an immune hypersensitivity to proteins found in chicken eggs, and possibly goose, duck, or turkey eggs. Symptoms can be either rapid or gradual in onset. The latter can take hours to days to appear. The former may include anaph ...
but more often occurs without allergy to poultry eggs. One study found that not chicken, just turkey meat are the primary cause of allergic reactions, whilst goose, pheasant, and duck meat cause milder reaction or no symptoms.
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Symptoms and signs
Symptoms are similar to other forms of allergies and occur after ingestion of the allergen. Some symptoms include abdominal cramping,
angioedema
Angioedema is an area of swelling (edema) of the lower layer of skin and tissue just under the skin or mucous membranes. The swelling may occur in the face, tongue, larynx, abdomen, or arms and legs. Often it is associated with hives, which are ...
, generalized
urticaria
Hives, also known as urticaria, is a kind of skin rash with red, raised, itchy bumps. Hives may burn or sting. The patches of rash may appear on different body parts, with variable duration from minutes to days, and does not leave any long-last ...
, and chest tightness.
Diagnosis
Epidemiology
As it is a rare condition and it is not well documented; epidemiological data is unknown. Severe cases have been documented. A research study in 2016 found only 16 cases of previously published poultry meat allergy, plus an additional 28 cases that were being analyzed in the study.
References
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Food allergies
Poultry