Brian Key, chief of allergy and clinical immunology at the University of Kentucky, said about 60 percent of asthmatics are allergic to roaches. The usual victims are laboratory workers, students and field workers who are frequently exposed to roaches dead or otherwise, according to Dr. Francois Haas and Sheila Sperber Haas in "The Essential Asthma Handbook."
"A report by the US Agricultural Department cited studies which show that millions of people are allergic to cockroaches. Reactions can range from a runny nose and skin irritation to difficulty in breathing, shock, and in extreme cases, even death," said the editors of "Health Alert", a publication of the Health Action Information Network.