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Cats cause allergies for one in four

The domestic cat could cause more than a quarter of the population to have allergic reactions according to a new study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. The findings have led scientists to suggest allergy sufferers should steer clear of cats, even if they are not allergic to the domestic cat.

The study researchers found that more than 25% of people with a range of common allergies – to dust, grass, or mould – were more prone to breathing difficulties if their homes had any coating of cat dander. This was true even when the allergy sufferers, as shown in blood tests, were not specifically sensitized to cats.

But allergy specialist Professor Andrew Kemp, head of Pediatric Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the Childrens’ Hospital at Westmead, NSW, told the Herald Sun newspaper that exposure to cats at a young age could actually protect people against allergies or asthma.

Professor Kemp said that “there’s quite a body of literature that suggests owning a cat in early life may protect you against allergies and asthma so it is not necessarily bad in young people. What happens later in life does not necessarily apply to children”.

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