Could not resist the pun. My MO had been wondering why almost all the patients he heard about or treated that had such a reaction to Erbitux were from the South. Other reports on this indicated that the cause was probably being bitten by "seed ticks" which trigger the antibody which are especially prevalent in TN, NC & GA. I agree that it would be great if they develop a test because the nurses warned my wife each and every infusion to watch closely for a reaction which did not help either of our stress level. At least the benadryl did help grab a quick nap.
I lost the link to one article I found that suggested that prior work with mice was not a factor as the antibodies were specific to the sugar and not the protein nor the mouse amino acid as the shock did not occur with patients with prior documented allergies to mice.
On a side note, this week marks the first time since ending Erbitux that my fingernails have grown long enough to cut.