Hyperreactivity to bee stings: reevaluation.

(a) A survey of beekeepers in Israel did not show that they differed allergy-wise from the general population. (b) Twenty-eight non-beekeeper systemic reactors to bee stings were not necessarily more allergic or more exposed to stings than the others. These systemic reactors had a spontaneous kinin system hyperreactivity and in some of them changes in the immune system and a complement defect were detected. We think that predisposition may enhance the likelihood of a systemic reaction to bee stings. Thus the common denominator for the hyperreactivity to bee stings is not their exposure to stings nor their allergic background but rather the spontaneous kinin activity and a possible defect in their immunological system.