Childhood Food Allergy Epidemic
Childhood Food Allergy Epidemic – Childhood allergy rates have hit “epidemic proportions” in Australia, prompting health experts to broaden their efforts to combat the mysterious condition.
Canberra-based allergy expert Dr Ray Mullins said 15,000 Australian children born this year would develop a potentially fatal food allergy before they reached school age.
Food allergies – particularly allergies to peanuts and tree nuts – were a growing problem with no known cause, and they now affected three to six per cent of children under the age of three.
“This translates to 65,000 little kids with food allergy before they reach school age, (including) 25,000 now with peanut or tree nut allergies”, Dr Mullins told AAP on Tuesday.
“On current birth rates, another 15,000 kids born every year will develop food allergy in the first few years of life.
“It’s a public health problem of epidemic proportions.”
Dr Mullins, president of the Australian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA), points to a WA-based study which found about 80 per cent of schools had at least one student at risk of a severe allergic reaction to food – anaphylaxis.
One in seven of the schools reported a student had suffered an anaphylactic reaction – requiring in emergency injection with adrenaline – in the past 12 months.
Childhood Food Allergy Epidemic
Tags: Adrenaline, Age Food, Allergic Reaction, Allergy Epidemic, Anaphylactic Reaction, Birth Rates, Clinical Immunology, Dr Ray, Emergency Injection, Epidemic Proportions, First Few Years, Food Allergies, Food Allergy, Health Experts, Little Kids, Mysterious Condition, Nut Allergies, Public Health Problem, Tree Nut, Tree Nuts
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