Prevalence of bee sting allergy in 4,992 boy scouts.

TLDR: There has been no definite study of the prevalence of Hymenoptera sting allergy in a normal population, and considerable evidence exists in the literature regarding anaphylactic or allergic reactions due to sensitization from Hymanoptera.

Abstract: The sudden anci often fatal anaphylactic reactions to insect stings are well known. At first these cieaths were thought to be due to the toxic effect of venom but later most were shown to be due to anaphylactic reactions. In the the nineteenth century, thei'e were scattered reports oi deaths due to the poisonous effect of the venom. In 1914, JValcrhoitsc (13) in Lancet reported that some of these insect sting reactions were due to anaphylactic rather than toxic reactions. There were 229 reported stinging insect deaths in the U.S.A. from 1950-1959, almost twice the number of fatalities from poisonous snakes (5) . Although considerable evidence exists in the literature regarding anaphylactic or allergic reactions due to sensitization from Hymenoptera (1—4, 6-13), there has been no definite study of the prevalence of Hymenoptera sting allergy in a normal population.