A recent study published in Frontiers in Allergy brings attention to the growing risk people with systemic mastocytosis (SM) face of experiencing severe allergic reactions from fire ant stings.
Native to South America, fire ants have now colonized three continents, including 14 states in the United States. Their populations are expected to spread to wider areas of the world in the coming decades due, in part, to climate change.
Fire ants belong to the Hymenoptera order of insects, which includes other stinging species that can trigger anaphylaxis in humans, like honeybees, wasps and hornets. People with SM are at a heightened risk of anaphylaxis from these insect stings.
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Until now, prevalence of fire ant venom anaphylaxis in the U.S. among SM patients and the general population has been unknown. To quantify the risk, researchers analyzed electronic medical records and claims data from 7,237 patients who had been linked to a venom allergy.
The results showed that fire ant immunotherapy was the most frequently ordered immunotherapy prescription (45.9%), followed by mixed vespid (45.3%) and wasp stings (43.2%). Notably, fire ant immunotherapy prescriptions surpassed all flying Hymenoptera immunotherapy prescriptions combined in six of the 14 colonized states.
The study also found that approximately 0.048% of individuals in the general population experience anaphylaxis due to fire ant stings. In affected states, this rate increased to 0.085%. Among individuals diagnosed with SM, the prevalence of fire ant venom-induced anaphylaxis was much higher, with 32.6% reporting such reactions. This was higher than all other flying Hymenoptera-venom anaphylaxis combined, which was 25.6%.
The researchers say these findings have important implications as fire ants continue to invade new regions.
“In summary, the burden of fire ant-venom anaphylaxis in the general population and among patients with SM has surpassed all other flying Hymenoptera-venom anaphylaxis combined in many areas of the U.S. colonized by fire ants,” the authors wrote. “This is alarming since climate change is expected to substantially expand fire ant habitats.”
The study’s authors also noted that anaphylaxis triggered by fire ants in patients with SM is often mistaken for other conditions, which can delay potentially life-saving treatment with epinephrine. Therefore, healthcare providers and patients alike should be aware of the dangers fire ant venom poses and be vigilant in areas where these insects are prevalent.
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