Hard to swallow: December 2004
Does hair give you hayfever? Do whiskers make you wheeze? If so, you are not alone. Allergies, particularly among children, are one of the commonest reasons for having to part with the beloved family pet. Either that, or reach for the antihistamines every time a furry face appears at the door.
But now there may be an answer in sight for animal lovers - and it's not another allergy treatment. In an impressive piece of lateral thinking, US biotechnology company Allerca has launched a project to produce what it claims will be the world's first hypoallergenic cats. The first kittens are expected to be handed over in 2007, and will be the pioneers in a planned series of lifestyle pets that Allerca will develop over the next few years. Researchers will use patented biotechnology to suppress the allergen-producing gene in cats, thereby eliminating the problem at source.
The response from animal lovers has been overwhelmingly positive. The company has received thousands of inquiries from the US, Japan and Europe and a web-based reservation system is in place for those who want to be among the first to own a hypoallergenic cat.
According to research carried out at the Medical College of Georgia, however, which followed hundreds of children from birth to age 7, children who grow up with dogs and cats in the home have their risk of developing common allergies reduced by 50% or more. The results were exactly the opposite from the scientists' expectations and contradict what allergists have believed for years.
'The bottom line is that maybe we live too clean a life,' said Dr Dennis Ownby, chief of the Medical College of Georgia Section of Allergy and Immunology. 'What happens when kids play with cats or dogs? The animals lick them. The lick is transferring a lot of Gram-negative bacteria and that may be changing the way the child's immune system responds in a way that helps protect against allergies.'
So perhaps my grandmother was right all along when she saidL 'You have to eat a peck of dirt before you die.'