Anisakiasis: The Importance of Prevention and the Role of Diet Therapy in Allergic Patients
- 1 June 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by S. Karger AG in International Archives of Allergy and Immunology
- Vol. 181 (7), 507-511
- https://doi.org/10.1159/000507443
Abstract
Introduction:Anisakiasis is a zoonosis of parasitic origin whose diffusion seems to be continuously increasing.Objective:The aim of this study was to evaluate the benefits of a fish-free diet in patients allergic toAnisakissimplexas well as underlining the importance of awareness and prevention. Furthermore, we aimed to investigate the critical issues related to the spread of anisakiasis in relation to eating habits.Methods:Patients were assessed by means of skin prick tests (SPTs) and targeted laboratory testing, with an 18-month-long fish-free diet being recommended in cases of severe sensitization. The degree of awareness about anisakiasis was evaluated from interviews. Patients were subjected to follow-up visits after 18 months.Results:A total of 70 cases of sensitization toA. simplexwere evaluated. The Interview answers highlighted a general state of misinformation among patients and healthy subjects along with a remarkable underestimation of anisakiasis-related risks. An overall lack of care regarding eating habits and diet plans also emerged. In 21 patients affected by severe sensitization, clinical and laboratory evaluations were repeated after 18 months of the subjects being on a fish-free diet. There was a remarkable improvement in serum IgE levels and clinical symptoms.Conclusion:Data analysis proved the need to implement new and more effective awareness-raising and prevention campaigns in order to reduce the incidence of anisakiasis. It is crucial to establish an adequate diet therapy for sensitized patients. Evaluation of cytokine patterns suggests how a polyphenol-rich regime can activate regulatory T cell function and possibly reduce the allergic and inflammatory components of the disease.This publication has 21 references indexed in Scilit:
- Cytokine Profile in Patients Infected with Anisakis simplex in Endemic Areas: Dietary Intervention with Polyphenols: A Working HypothesisEndocrine, Metabolic & Immune Disorders - Drug Targets, 2016
- The skin prick test – European standardsClinical and Translational Allergy, 2013
- Investigation of the freely available easy-to-use software ‘EZR’ for medical statisticsBone Marrow Transplantation, 2012
- Anisakis simplex Hypersensitivity Is Associated with Chronic Urticaria in Endemic AreasInternational Archives of Allergy and Immunology, 2012
- The Anisakis allergy debate: does an evolutionary approach help?Trends in Parasitology, 2012
- The hidden sense of symptoms: Urticaria can be beneficialMedical Hypotheses, 2010
- Anisakiasis, an Underestimated Infection: Effect on Intestinal Permeability of Anisakis simplex–Sensitized PatientsFoodborne Pathogens & Disease, 2010
- Immunomodulatory effects of curcumin treatment on murine schistosomiasis mansoniImmunobiology, 2009
- Anisakis simplex: from Obscure Infectious Worm to Inducer of Immune HypersensitivityClinical Microbiology Reviews, 2008
- Anisakis and eosinophil: II. Eosinophilic phlegmon experimentally induced in normal rabbits by parasite-derived eosinophil chemotactic factor (ECF-P)Clinical Immunology and Immunopathology, 1982