Man rushed to hospital after munching on 20 deep-fried cicadas

A man was taken to the emergency room after he ate 20 deep-fried cicadas on Saturday and gone into a near-fatal shock.

The 20-year-old surnamed Xu tragically found out he was allergic to the insects the hard way after he downed the local delicacy for the first time in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province.

He soon started showing rashes and began itching before passing out, thepaper.cn reported on Wednesday.

Doctors at Yinzhou District Second Hospital said Xu had gone into anaphylactic shock, a potentially fatal allergic reaction.

It was then Xu found out he had an allergy to cicadas. Doctors said his reaction could have been deadly if not treated in time. He is now recovering from the ordeal.

The buzzy bug is a summertime snack in Ningbo, where many hospitals report similarly treating people for previously unknown allergies to cicadas.

“Even a tiny dose of the allergen can pose serious risks,” said Xu Hao, an emergency physician at nearby Mingzhou Hospital. “People should be extra careful when having cicadas… along with other common protein-rich allergen such as seafood and dairy products,” he added.