There are lots of families of cockroaches, the ones that are flagged by the World Health Organization (WHO) are the German cockroach which are in the Ectobiidae family of insects and the American cockroach which is in the Blattidae family of animals.

The main sources of cockroach allergens are cockroach saliva, faeces, eggs and shed skins.

Between them they have 24 allergens associated with them, the most well known being tropomyosin, an allergen found in fish, molluscs, crustaceans, dust mites and other insects and chitinase proteins which are found in both insects and some plants. They also have lipocalin allergens, which are proteins more commonly associated with furry animal allergies, like cats, dogs and horses.

Enolase proteins were added to the WHO Allergen Nomenclature list of allergens for cockroaches in 2022. These are common inhalant proteins found in other animals and some plants.

As all the allergens associated with cockroaches are inhalant, the symptoms of an allergy to cockroaches would most likley be sneezing, wheezing, irritation of the nose, mouth and throat and in some cases worsening of asthma symptoms. The best approach to reduce symptoms of allergy to cockroaches is to attempt to eradicate them from your living spaces.

Allergy to cockroachs is strongly associated with allergic rhinitis as well as asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and atopic dermatitis.

Some species of cockroachs contain chitinase, which is a protein often linked to Latex Allergy.

Tropomyosin is both a food allergen and an airway allergen. In cockroaches the protein is an airway allergen. Other animals which contain this allergen include mosquito, storage mites, termites, dustmites and silverfish.

Tropomyosin as a food allergen is found in crab, shrimp, oysters, abalone, snails, lobsters, prawns, tilapia, catfish, crab, Atlantic salmon and squid.

Cockroaches also contain chitinase proteins which can cause an inhalant reaction. Foods containing chitinase include corn, avocado, banana, pomegranate, mango, coffee and chestnuts.

Enolase proteins are also found in fungus and moulds, cod, salmon, tuna, catfish, chicken and also in plants, latex, wormwood, grasses and ragweed.

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