Alpine Slide Anaphylaxis

Abstract

DURING the two-week period of July 22 to August 8, 1982, five people experienced anaphylactic reactions (Table 1) after sustaining skin-abrasion injuries while riding on an Alpine Slide in Vermont. The slide is an amusement ride that consists of a free-running sled that glides down a mountainside on an asbestos-cement track. A case–control study was initiated and included companions of the index cases, noncompanions with abrasion injuries, and six employees who had also had recent abrasion injuries from the slide. Risk factors that were significantly associated with the development of anaphylaxis included abrasions, a personal or family history of allergic . . .