BANANA AND LATEX ALLERGY

In the years 1988 - 94, eleven patients were found with banana allergi es, 2 of them showing additional reaction to latex. A further patient was found with anaphylaxis to latex. There were no signs of cross-reac tivity between banana and latex. This occurrence seems to be very rare . The different test methods (prick-, rub-, scratch-, RAS-test) give r emarkably divergent results especially in their temporal sequence and in different laboratories. Bananas are being consumed since very long times in great quantities but allergies are reported scarcely and only in recent years. Likewise, latex is being used since a long while esp ecially in the medical domain. Allergies were found lately but then in very fast rising quantities. It is striking how exceptionally other u se of latex is known to produce an allergy. The increasing prevalence of hypersensitivity to certain vegetable foodstuffs in pollen-sensitiv e individuals (pollen-associated food allergies) is remarkable. There is no botanical relationship between these allergens. Nevertheless, th ere must exist the same or similar allergens as structure proteins.