A randomized population of 222 beekeepers from Lombardy (203 males, 19 females, of mean age 42.5 years) was studied to determine the frequency of
allergic reactions to bee
sting. The type of reactions, the clinical evolution at the subsequent
stings and the risk factors concerning the development of
allergy (presence of
venom specific
IgE, number of
stings in a year, atopy, age) were evaluated. It was found that 170 beekeepers never presented reactions to
stings while 52 (23.4%) showed
allergic reactions consisting in 31 large local reactions and 21 systemic reactions; of these, 3 (5.7%) were life-threatening. In the group of beekeepers with
allergic reactions at the subsequent
stings, 26 (50%) showed a spontaneous loss of reactivity, 16 (30.8%) presented persistent, but unchanged in severity, reactions and 10 (19.2%) had a worsening of symptoms. Specific honey
bee venom IgE levels (measured by means of RAST) were significantly lower in immune beekeepers when compared with the group with
allergic reactions (p less than 0.01) and in beekeepers with previous
allergy when compared to the ones with persistent reactions (p less than 0.05). We also found significant differences about the number of
stings received in a year by beekeepers with persistent
allergic reactions (17.5
stings), beekeepers with previous
allergy (89.8
stings) and immune subjects (126.9
stings). On the contrary, no significant differences were detected about the age and the presence of atopy. These results suggest that practice of bee-keeping induces a relatively high incidence of
allergic reactions but with a trend to the spontaneous improvement of symptoms and a low incidence of severe reactions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)