Two years ago, Allerca, a San Diego-based biotechnology company, set tongues wagging when it announced plans to develop cats that would not produce the occasional reaction that people with allergic reactions to the deadly pet experience swollen, watery eyes, and wheezing. distress, skin irritation, sneezing, and nasal congestion that follows their exposure to cats and the environment where cats reside.
Now, according to a Southern California county, they are ready to deliver the world’s first allergen-free cats.
In June 2006, Allerca announced that they have successfully bred products that they claim are “allergen-free” due to the lack of known proteins such as FEL D1. A protein that only occurs in cats, FEL D1 is found in the fur, saliva, urine, and glands of cats, according to New Scientist news. In addition, they add that the furniture protein D1 sticks to furniture, carpets, clothes, triggering allergies even in sufferers. in the absence of a trigger.
Allerca announced that it had produced new cat breeds allergen-free through a process called genetic divergence. They will be ready to release the new cats to the public in 2007.
Developing a genetic division (GD) scientific method of producing allergen-free cats by identifying cats that naturally possess far less than the usual number of FEL D1 and breed with other cats similarly deficient in FEL D1 for several generations until, according to Allerca, they have produced a cat that effectively lacks the allergy-making protein and is virtually allergenic. . The biotechnology company also claims that this new science is entirely human. According to the Allergy Website, they “focused on naturally occurring genetic divergence (GD) already present in cats that do not harm cats in any way.”
Their claims to have produced the world’s first allergen-free cats are mixed opinion. In an interview with New Scientist, Robert Wood, director of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, confirmed that some cats , in fact, the allergen producers are well known, producing approximately one thousandth of the normal cat D1. However, Wood also notes that many people who experience allergic-reactions allergic reactions should also avoid cats as the most allergenic exposure. be wise, and it is not allowed to eliminate or reduce the source of allergenic disturbance allergic reaction in some sensitive people. In addition, according to Wood, about 10% of people who suffer from an allergic reaction to cats are allergic to a different protein such as cat albumin, which is dissolved in the urine.
According to their website, these new allergen-free cats are “the world’s first scientifically proven hypoallergenic cats,” and they “allow some of the thousands of people with feline allergies to finally enjoy the love and companionship of a family pet without allergic symptoms.”
Allerca cats are offered to consumers for a whopping $3,950 cash, plus a $995 processing and shipping fee. If you have sympathized with allergic reactions to cats and their environment and have longed for a little fury of your own feline, there may be a possibility on the horizon that will provide you with the opportunity to help with allergen-free fur. but your puppy will not come cheap.
