Abstract

Oral mite anaphylaxis (OMA) (aka pancake syndrome) is a disease in which a person gets symptoms after eating food contaminated with particular mites. The disease name comes from reports of people becoming ill after eating pancakes made from contaminated flour.

Mites suspected as causing the condition are "Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus", "Blomia tropicalis", and "Suidasia pontifica" (Suidasia medanensis). The latter two are the most likely to have caused the harmful effects, and they live in tropical and subtropical environments.

Because the disease is transmitted by pancakes and other cooked food, scientists expect that this means that the allergen can withstand the heat of cooking. Storing flour at low temperature in a freezer could prevent contamination or kill existing mites in the flour. Anaphylaxis can occur during exposure to NSAID drugs or exercise to those exposed to the mites.