Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Nov 24, 2025 3 months, 15 hours, 4 minutes ago
Medical News: A new medical case from Saudi Arabia is raising concerns about how COVID-19 may affect the developing immune systems of infants. Doctors from King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center and King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences have reported an unusual case in which a baby developed a serious non-IgE food allergy disorder known as food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome, or FPIES, shortly after recovering from COVID-19. This
Medical News report highlights the growing question of whether viral infections can unmask or trigger food-related immune reactions in vulnerable children.
A new case report suggests COVID-19 may help trigger severe gut-based food allergies in infants.
FPIES is a rare but potentially dangerous condition that affects the gut instead of the skin or airways. It usually begins in the first year of life and is most commonly triggered by cow’s milk or soy. Unlike typical allergies, it does not cause hives or breathing problems. Instead, it causes severe vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration and in serious cases, low blood pressure that may send infants into shock. In this study, the child had tolerated cow’s milk formula since birth, making the sudden reaction after a COVID-19 illness particularly notable.
According to the report, the 10-month-old infant first became sick at just 20 days old with fever and diarrhea and tested positive for COVID-19. Although he recovered, he soon returned with persistent vomiting, worsening diarrhea and severe dehydration that required intensive care. Doctors initially suspected lactose intolerance or viral gastroenteritis. His symptoms only improved after switching to an amino acid-based formula, which contains no whole proteins and is often used for severe allergies. Months later, an oral food challenge confirmed that cow’s milk triggered classic FPIES symptoms, including repetitive vomiting, pallor, diarrhea and dangerously low blood pressure requiring large amounts of intravenous fluids.
Detailed blood studies also showed a sharp increase in neutrophils eight hours after the food challenge, a known immune response pattern seen in FPIES. Once cow’s milk was removed again, the child recovered completely. The researchers noted that stool tests during both the COVID-19 episode and the FPIES attack were negative, strengthening the argument that the reaction was not due to infection at the time of the food challenge.
Key findings from the case suggest that COVID-19 might act as a cofactor by disrupting gut immunity, increasing intestinal permeability or altering the microbiome in a way that sensitizes infants to food proteins. While the study does not prove that COVID-19 directly causes FPIES, the timing raises an important hypothesis: viral infections may play a role in triggering non-IgE-mediated food allergies in genetically or immunologically susceptible infants.
Conclusion
Although this is just one of the few cases observed globally so far, it provides important insight into how post-viral immune changes—especially a
fter COVID-19—may influence the development of rare food allergy disorders. Infants who suddenly lose tolerance to foods they previously consumed safely should be evaluated carefully, and future research must explore how viral infections interact with the gut-immune axis. Understanding these links could help prevent misdiagnosis, reduce complications and improve treatment for affected children.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Frontiers in Allergy.
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/allergy/articles/10.3389/falgy.2025.1705278/full
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Read Also:
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/coronavirus
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/long-covid
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