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Subscribe to RSSAllergic to cats? Then beware of pigs -- or at least, the meat that comes from these sty-dwelling swine. A small number of people who are sensitive to felines may also get allergic reactions to eating pork.
Dubbed "pork-cat syndrome," this food-induced allergic reaction can occur after consuming pork in people who are also allergic to cats, says Jonathon Posthumus, MD, a fellow in the division of asthma, allergy and immunology at the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville.
Although this rare syndrome was first recognized in Europe in the mid-1990s, Posthumus and his colleagues recently described the first six documented cases of it in the U.S. He presented his preliminary findings at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.
According to Posthumus, the true allergen in people with pork-cat syndrome is albumin, a protein that's found in both cat dander and in pork meat. When albumin is consumed in a pork-containing meal it can trigger an allergic reaction in sensitive individuals.
But not all people who are allergic to cat dander are sensitive to cat albumin. So, most cat-allergic individuals would probably not have reactions to pork.
In this research, five out of six cases of pork-cat syndrome were seen in women, and the average age of those with this rare food sensitivity was 28. Blood tests were positive for cat dander and pork antibodies in all six people.
Following a meal containing pork, one person reported having an itchy mouth, three broke out in hives, and two had anaphylaxis, a severe and sometimes life-threatening allergic reaction.
People with this syndrome may also develop swelling of the mouth, lips or tongue, and these same areas could become itchy after consuming pork products. Posthumus suspects the reaction may be related to how much pork is on your plate, but he says, there is no way to determine the threshold amount that triggers these symptoms.
Those diagnosed with this unusual food hypersensitivity are advised to steer clear of eating pork, and told what signs to look for and treatments to seek if they accidentally slip-up.
The UVA scientists discovered the country's first reported cases while researching people with meat allergies. Perhaps pork-cat syndrome has been under-recognized in the U.S. because "it can easily be missed if the patient is not properly evaluated and the relationship to cat allergy is not appreciated," Posthumus points out.
Readers, if you've ever experienced these strange sensations after eating pork, we have to hear about it. Leave us a comment telling us your story.
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Leave a Comment:
Ah Ha! I developed an allergy to cats in my teens, a sensitivity to chicken in my thirties and the same with pork in my forties. I call it a sensitivity rather than an allergy because, although eating chicken and pork often causes my mouth, scalp and hands to itch for an hour or so, it's not severe enough to cause me not to eat those things. I had thought that maybe it was hormones in the meat, but switching to organically raised didn't make a difference.
Doc's got a great name.
He really does!
...wouldn't want my doc with that name lol.
I just now noticed that! If that were my last name and I went to medical school, I'd probably study to be a coroner. :)
OhJoy, - my thoughts exactly. That can't be good for business.
I found out I was allergic to giraffes after eating grilled cheese sandwiches.
HA!
My doc is a respected GI specialist, he is allergic to cats, but claims its not the dander he's allergic to, he says cats pee out of their skin, that he's allergic to cat pee. I tried to explain that my cat pees in his box, he wouldn't hear of it.
if Paul Harvey were alive then maybe we could hear the rest of the story... hehe
Personal experience: A few years ago, I went to the emergency room with severe abdominal pains shortly after eating pork. They admitted me with what they called acute pancreatitis, but were confused because I'm neither a regular drinker (I consume maybe one alcohol drink a month, if that), nor any other risk factors.
Apparently it went away by itself after a couple of days, but I don't eat pork often, so we deduced that the pork was the instigating factor.
Editor or reporter, feel free to contact me for followup.
I'm the same way, if I eat pork chops or pork loin -- any kind of non-cured pork -- severe and painful gas and stomach upset for days. But I am fine with ham or bacon -- any cured pork. the unofficial diagnosis is that we can't digest a pork enzyme
Actually, what I'd eaten last was 2 Sausage McMuffins; all that stuff is gross anyway and humans are much better off not eating it.
I'm thinking if humans and pigs have so much in common that we can use their insulin or heart valves in our bodies, there's got to be some reason so many people literally can't stomach it.
I suspect there is a small number of people who are sensitive to felines may also get allergic reactions to goldenrod. Or seafood. Or strawberries. Or how about eggs, since egg white is made entirely of albumin?
I'm not convinced...
They're not saying that a cat allergy CAUSES a pork allergy or vice versa. They're just saying that people who are allergic to the albumen in one might be allergic to the albumen in the other, in which case your egg example (eggsample?) stands. They're noting connection not causality.
fnord42: We have albumin (in fact, it's the major plasma protein in our bodies). However, each species have different albumin that are genetically different (some more so than others). They are simply saying, as LisaK points out, that some people are allergic to both.
While the article doesn't specify this, I would bet that the albumin in cats and in pigs is genetically similar. When a cat allergic person's APCs (antigen presenting cells - there are several different types), processes the cat antigen and presents it to the other immune cells, the APCs are presenting several different Ag's (or segments of the cat albumin). Keep in mind that APC's can only present segments that are ~7 - 13 base pairs in length, albumin is very large, so it must be broke down. If cat and pork have genetically similar albumin, then there is a very high chance that the APC will present a cat albumin segment that matches a pork albumin segment.
The person then produces Antibodies that recognize these various segments of the cat albumin. At least one of these segments of presented Ag is probably genetically similar to pork albumin, enough so that the immune system views it as a foreign attacking substance rather than the harmless albumin that it is. So, the next time the person eats pork, they have antibodies that recognize the pork albumin, even though they were originally generated to recognize a specific portion of the cat albumin. Essentially - pork albumin and cat albumin have enough genetically similar sequences that the immune system can't tell them apart in some people, based on the way their APC's processed the cat albumin found in the dander.
Might be a case of 'you are what you eat', as cats probably, once upon a time, recently or far back (or both) ate pork, and got bits of the genetics passed down?
It's not too hard to check the similarity between cat, pig & human albumin. It has been done:
Journal of Medicinal Plants Research Vol. 5(19), pp. 4974-4976, 23 September, 2011 Available online at
Comparative study of similarity and identity of human albumin with some selected organism albumin
Alignment of protein sequences plays an important role in understanding the evolution of the protein. Albumin is a water soluble protein and is synthesized in liver in human. It is coagulated by heat and has carrier function in the body. In present study, albumin sequence was compared with rat, pig, cat and bovine albumin. On conclusion, it was found that that human albumin has highest similarity with cat albumin and lowest similarity with pig albumin. Human albumin has highest identity with cat albumin and lowest identity with pig albumin.
To check, I ran at BLAST on the albumin sequence from Felis catus. Though one cannot tell the actual 3D structural similarity between the proteins, the next closest sequence similarities are dog, then human, followed by several animals with Bos taurus (cow) coming before pig (Sus scrofa).
This doesn't support the hypothesis of Summer-1597193 BUT, at least he/she presented a reasonable idea. I am very skeptical of RARE relationships.... and can't imagine why doctors would assume anything is true here but correlation and ignore the idea of causation.
Perhaps someone mistook "Dr. Posthumus" for a live/real person like "Professor Anonymous?" ;)
I get nauseated with throat and mouth itching after eating pork products and the symptoms began when I was a child. I've also been allergic to cats since childhood. I had no idea there was a connection.
Got a good laugh at the misplaced phrases:
" this food-induced allergic reaction can occur after consuming pork in people who are also allergic to cats"
Trying to figure out how one consumes "pork in people"!
I have never had any physical reaction after eating cat.
I am 68...at the age of 30 I suddenly collapsed while eating and could not breathe...EMT's used oxygen and I spent 3 days in the hospital...swollen eyelids, sore throat, chest and abdominal pains...diagnosis...rare allergic reaction to a pork steak don't ever eat pork again ... at 36 again dining out, swallowed 3 greenbeans (seasoned with pork) and hit the floor again...2 days hospitalized that time...verdict? "Might" be allergic reaction to worms in pork (can we say trichinosis boys and girls?) that cause the reaction even if the pork is well cooked. Products made with lard do not affect me, apparently the rendering process destroys whatever it is in the pork I am allergic to...and this is an allergy, not in intolerence to pork. I am definitely NOT allergic to cats and have 3 outdoor cats living in my front yard and 1 indoor cat living in the house with our four Minature Pinschers. The cat usually sleeps with me.
I'm just the opposite. Every time I eat a cat, I get a horrible reaction. On the other hand, I sleep with a pig every night and I am completely unaffected.
THIS IS TOTALLY ME!!!! I'm allergic to cats...been allergic all my life. I can't eat pork because it makes my mouth/ears itch insanely bad. Such a bummer too because I make a mean pork tenderloin! I FINALLY have the reason why! Thanks for posting this, it made my day...lol :)
This explains why I never liked Porky Pig and Sylvester the cat as a kid!!!!
Dr. Posthumus?? Riiiiight. My Doctors name is Dr. Quack . . . And I like roast duck.
gwtexas, my Ah-Ha moment exactly. Mine started, however, with chicken, then turkey, then pork. It doesn't happen every single time, but about 98/100. Two of my three sons have it; my mom and sister, even my husband. I also thought it was the hormones or whatever, but I get the "reaction" from even organic, free-range chicken. It feels like a burning itch on both my hands. I'm so glad I found this article, as I thought we all had a weird allergy that I haven't heard of outside our family. Thanks for posting!
I have this! I have tested positive for both cat and pork. Both have anaphylactic reactions and I have been hospitalized twice for the pork allergy. And trust me pork is a hard one to avoid. I was diagnosed in 1998 with the pork allergy ( from the allergist) and have gotten such skeptsim .. it is very nice to have this validated in the press. As a note I seem to have a reaction to venison also.
I have been recently dx with a mammalian allergy. I am really allergic to cat and dogs. For 16 years I have had episodes of aphalaxis and been hospitialized in ICU twice. Since June of 2010 I have had constant unexplained itching. No rash, no bumps...nothing but itching. After 4 allergist, 3 primary care doctors, 3 dermatologist and countless test I FINALLY HAVE AN ANSWER. My current primary care physician I have been going to for ten months finally sent me to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN to the VASAP doctors. Thank you Lord!
I was not expecting to get the dx I received but am so thankful that I finally know what the problem is and I'm not going crazy. I am allergic to both beef and pork. I'm more allergic to pork and my allergy is worse with cats than dogs. REading this article I was totally stunned. I want to tell EVERYONE that will listen about this. It is a horrible feeling not knowing what is wrong with you and you feel so allienated from society. I hope no one ever has to go thru life like I have for 16 years. They specialist have told me to avoid all mammals and to eat only fowl and fish. This is a huge lifestyle change for me but I am feeling much better and it has only been 4 weeks.
Now to those of you who have made smartellic remarks about this article. You need to be more sensitive to others and quit being jerks. You need to thank God you don't have to go thru this and no one you love has to experience this. If you can't say nothing nice then quit showing your stupidity and ignorance and SHUT UP!
Aoha,
I live in the state of Hawaii. I believe I may be one of the individuals who maybe suffering from Pork-cat syndrome. It all happened around ten years ago. I once tried adopting a cat. I ended up returning the cat to a friend because I had itchy eyes and wheezing. The pork incident has been fairly recent. I always had no problem with consuming pork, but this all changed about two years. Each time I consume pork my tough and lips swell. I sometimes have hives. Its hard for me not to consume pork because pork is found in a lot of local dishes in hawaii. I actually love pork, but cant consume it because I'm afraid I might die. Foods I avoid are: bacon, pork chops, sausages, hotdogs etc.
That is so weird! I'm 18 and developed an allergy to cats (also dogs and egg) a few years ago, and now i am almost certain i have developed an allergy to pork after i had just a few bites the other day and instantly my mouth, throat and tongue started tingling. My throat started closing up, and my lips began to swell. I recognised the feeling of an allergic reaction however i hadn't eaten pork for over a year at this point so i did wonder whether this could be causing a reaction. I didn't even know one could be allergic to pork until today!? Crazy...may make a docs appointment ha.