Pork-Cat Syndrome—it sounds like something about obese cats, but it’s actually an uncommon cross-reactive allergy where some people who are allergic to cats are also allergic to pork. Who knew?!
Vaccine For Cat Allergies
This is pretty nifty! Researchers have developed a vaccine for people allergic to cats. It uses a synthetic version of the protein in cats’ saliva that is deposited on their fur when they groom.
The study found:
In a clinical trial, 88 patients were injected with the vaccine or a placebo and the researchers found that the product led to a 40 per cent reduction in effects on their skin that develop several hours after contact with a cat.
This was said to be the same effect that would be achieved with a year’s worth of traditional allergy vaccines, and prevented symptoms developing “for a prolonged period”.