Allergists call it SEIPA. Little known to the general public, this food protein allergy syndrome can occur at any time. In adults, it is the cause of an underestimated number of allergies, mainly to oysters and other seafood.
“Once you throw up an oyster it’s gone, you can never eat it again”. Many people have heard this popular adage, between diagnosis and curse. Far from being a simple received idea, this allergy to oysters, presumed to be rare but which can declare itself at any time in adolescent and adult life, has a name: SEIPA.
“SEIPA is enterocolitis syndrome (intestinal inflammation, editor’s note) induced by dietary protein”translated for Science and Future Dr. Madeleine Epstein, allergist. SEIPA is more widely described in infants, in whom it is the cause of certain cases of the famous allergy to cow’s milk proteins, but also to eggs, fish or any other food. “The most frequent SEIPA in adults is triggered by oysters, to the point that allergists wonder to what extent all of the poisonings attributed to oysters are actually SEIPAs.”, reveals Madeleine Epstein.
Rare data
Internationally, seafood in general is also singled out for adult SEIPA, the incidence of which remains unclear. One study estimates only 0.22% the proportion of adults suffering from SEIPA (all dietary proteins combined) against 0.55% for infants in the United States. In France, investigation conducted among Ile-de-France allergists, co-signed by Dr Epstein, found only 38 cases of oyster SEIPA in 2019. “A vastly underestimated number“, supports the allergist, as the declared cases represent a small proportion of the real cases, often approached during a consultation relating to another reason. The patients were mainly women whose average age was 40 years. numbers that echo a 2020 canadian studyreporting 68% women in adult SEIPA.
But the data are scarce, because if the parents of infants allergic to milk proteins, to which they are always exposed[…]
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