Insects as a Trigger for Urticaria and Anaphylaxis Anaphylaxis due to insect stings rarely appears in the veterinary literature. However, isolated case reports demonstrate that dogs and presumably cats are suscepti-ble to stings from insects within the order Hymenoptera [30, 52, 74–79].
Two families of stinging insects within Hymenoptera will be considered briefly here [80]:
● The family Apoidea ● The family Vespoidea Apoidea members include the honeybees and bumble-bees, as compared to wasps, hornets, and yellow jackets, which are members of Vespoidea. Both deliver a sting to their target [80] (see Figures 11.6a, b).
Members of Apoidea deliver a single sting, after which they die. This is a function of the fact that the stinger is barbed and embeds in the target. Following the sting, the stinger is ripped out of the insect’s abdo-men [80].
Members of Vespoidea, on the other hand, lack barbs.
The stinger does not remain attached to the target. This allows the stinging insect to sting the victim repeatedly, without dying [80, 81].
Neither Apoidea nor Vespoidea are capable of titrating the potency of their sting. Each sting delivers a standard amount of venom [80].
Companion animal patients may succumb to anaphy-laxis after a single sting [80]. The dose that the target receives is less important than the individual’s underly-ing sensitivity to the venom.
All patients that are stung develop localized pain and swelling. However, not all develop anaphylactic reac-tions; those that do present for urticaria and angioedema.
The respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts may or may not be involved. Hypotension and sudden death are also potential sequelae [80].
11 Erythematous Wheals and Angioedema186 Rarely
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