Allergy to pets and new allergies to uncommon pets

Abstract. Animal dander is an important source of respiratory allergens, and sensitization to allergens from cat and/or dog during childhood represents a risk factor for the development of asthma and rhinitis later in life. The identification and characterization of allergenic components is crucial to improve diagnosis and therapy in patients with allergy to pets. Allergens from furry animals belong to a restricted number of protein families, a large majority are lipocalins or albumins, some are secretoglobins or latherins. Animal dander contains cross-reactive molecules and current efforts aim at defining species-specific allergens that have a high diagnostic sensitivity. Component-resolved diagnosis allows to discriminate genuine sensitization from cross-sensitization. This review contains a detailed description of allergenic components of cat, dog, horse, and small mammalian pets. Sensitizations to exotic pets, a newly emerging issue, are also discussed.