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Girl Suffers Allergic Reaction to Antibiotic Residue in Blueberries

| September 3, 2014 Comment

A Canadian girl recently suffered a strange allergic reaction to antibiotic residue in blueberries. The girl, who ate a blueberry pie, experienced allergic symptoms like facial flushing, hives, and abnormal breathing, and was immediately treated with epinephrine and other drugs. Fortunately, she recovered.

Doctors then performed various tests to identify the source of the allergic reaction, and found that none of the ingredients used in the pie, blueberries, eggs, and nuts, had caused the allergy. More research showed that the pie had an antibiotic residue that came from the blueberries. The doctors then tested the girl for an allergy to streptomycin, an antibiotic commonly used as a pesticide on fruits, and found that streptomycin was the culprit.

Many countries have banned the use of antibiotics in agriculture because it can lead to antibiotic resistance, but antibiotics are still allowed in US and Canada. As long as antibiotics are used in agriculture, doctors need to watch out for antibiotic contamination when treating food allergies. More ….

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