A novel test, which is believed to be more accurate, to diagnose shrimp allergies in people using a basophil activation test on blood samples has been developed by researchers at Chinese University of Hong Kong. The test, which analyzes the cellular response of basophils – a type of white blood cell – in the patient’s blood sample using a flow cytometer, proved that it achieves a sensitivity and specificity far superior to that of other conventional allergy tests. 

Though there are several ways to detect a shrimp allergy, including skin prick tests and measurement of the blood level of shrimp-specific IgE antibodies currently, according to the Chinese University scientists, many patients have been still misdiagnosed under these methods. “The gold standard for shrimp allergy diagnosis is a double-blinded, placebo-controlled food challenge, in which patients receive increasing doses of the suspected food allergen and a placebo. But this method also has its limitations as it is risky, labor-intensive and expensive,” the researchers said in their report. The study recruited 35 patients who exhibited on at least two occasions immediate allergic reactions after eating shrimp. Fifteen of them were confirmed to be allergic to shrimp while the remaining 20 participants were tolerant of it. Shrimp allergy, the most common food allergy in Hong Kong, can cause skin reactions and oral symptoms. It can even lead to anaphylaxis, a severe and potentially life-threatening allergic reaction.