Allergy Shot Given to CATS to Help People with Cat Allergy

A company has reversed the traditional allergy shot given to people with bad allergies and created an allergy vaccine which is given to cats to make them less allergic for people. Essentially, this new vaccine makes cats become hypoallergenic!

Published in July 2019, the study outlined the use of a novel protein containing Fel-d1, the saliva protein that makes cats so allergic to people, along with a particle derived from the cucumber mosaic virus and a tetanus toxin–derived universal T-cell epitope.

This recombinant vaccine was then administered into the hind leg of over 50 young cats. Three doses over nine weeks with some cats also getting a booster shot six months later were given. All cats developed a sustained immune response neutralizing the Fel-d1 protein and the booster shot helped keep antibody levels high. Analysis of blood taken from cats showed the Fel-d1 being neutralized as well as the cats themselves producing less Fel-d1 in their saliva and tears. When these cat samples were mixed with blood taken from real human patients with a cat allergy, they caused less of an allergic reaction.

Of note, the vaccine did not appear to cause any serious or long-term side effects in the cats.

However, this study is preliminary and it may be years before this vaccine becomes commercially available.

In the meantime, allergy shots for humans is what is required at this time (other than daily allergy pills and nasal sprays).

Wondering how allergy vaccines for humans are made for allergy shots? Watch the video below!

Reference:
Immunization of cats to induce neutralizing antibodies against Fel d 1, the major feline allergen in human subjects. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Volume 144, Issue 1, 193 - 203