Many sting deaths can be prevented
4 July 2003
A significant proportion of people who died from wasp and bee stings in Australia over the past 20 years had a prior history of allergic reaction yet did not carry adrenaline, a study has found.
(Adrenaline in a self-injection device for emergency treatment of allergic reactions is available in Australia under the trade names EpiPen and EpiPen Jr.)
Dr Ken Winkel, director of the Australian Venom Research Unit in Melbourne, has conducted the first audit of venomous bite and sting mortality drawing on encoded Bureau of Statistics figures and coronial, death register and medical records. Wasps and bees accounted for most fatalities after snakebites, but deaths could have been reduced if more people took advantage of specific immunotherapy, Dr Winkel said.
(Immunotherapy in a person who has an allergy to a particular substance (an allergen) involves a series of injections over several years of very small amounts of the allergen. This type of immunotherapy is a means of decreasing sensitivity to the allergen. Immunotherapy is not an option in all types of allergy.)
'If no product is available [for immunotherapy] they could carry injectable prophylactic adrenaline [EpiPen or EpiPen Jr] yet almost none of them were carrying it,' he said.
Most fatalities were in rural areas, 'a long way from allergy centres', with many of the bee sting victims being truck drivers or outdoor workers.
Dr Winkel told the recent Winter Symposium of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine in Melbourne that snakebites remained the leading cause of death, with a mean 2.6 cases per year.
Bee and wasp stings accounted for 2.2 cases per year, of which 64 per cent were definite bee stings, 18 per cent definite wasp stings and 18 per cent either bee or wasp.
Last Reviewed: 04 July 2003
- 1. Medical Observer Weekly 4/7/03
