Occupational generalised urticaria and allergic airborne asthma due to anisakis simplex

Anisakis simplex (AS), a fish and cephalopodes parasite, may cause allergic reactions in humans on eating and/or handling contaminated fish. We pre se nt a case of occupational hypersensitivity to AS in a woman employed in a f rozen-fish factory. She showed both generalised urticarial rash and asthmat ic symptoms after work place exposure. All these symptoms immediately disap peared after work place exposure was ceased. The presence of a positive ski n prick test and high specific IgE values confirmed a hypersensitivity to a nisakis. This is the first case reported of both occupational generalised u rticaria and allergic airborne asthma due to AS in the same patient. We sug gest that AS could be an important cause of occupational asthma and/or urti caria in the fish industry.