Allergie aux piqûres de moustiques

In contrast to hymenoptera stings, anaphylactic reactions due to mosquito bites are very rare. In mosquito-allergic patients, mosquito bites can provoke immediate and/or delayed cutaneous reactions, the former involving IgE and IgG, the latter involving lymphocytes. Such cutaneous reactions may last for several days, and they are often painful and affect the involved person's quality of life. Children, who do not have natural immunity against mosquito salivary allergens, are particularly at risk, especially in heavily infested areas. While immunity may be acquired as a result of repeated bites occurring over a long period of time, specific immunotherapy with whole body extracts has sometimes been proposed as a complement to well-defined preventive measures, but in the absence of standardized extracts this remains questionable. The recent identification of the major allergens in mosquito saliva and the production of recombinant mosquito allergens that cross-react with salivary allergens from various type of mosquitoes should facilitate the diagnosis of mosquito allergy and justify immunotherapy for individuals who have serious allergic reactions following mosquito bites.