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Australia on Wednesday unveiled a free program for babies with a potentially life-threatening peanut allergy, billed as a first in terms of desensitization and still in the experimental stage in 10 hospitals across the country.
“We want to change the trajectory of allergic disease in Australia so more children can go to school without the risk of a potentially fatal peanut reaction.” said Kirsten Perrett, head of oral immunotherapy at the National Centre of Excellence in Allergy.
Eligible infants will receive daily doses of peanut powder for two years to build tolerance.
Over time, they will receive increasing doses in hopes of reducing their sensitivity to peanut, under the supervision of doctors at ten pediatric clinics across the country.
After two years, a test will determine whether the treatment has resulted in remission.
According to the professor, this is the first national peanut allergy treatment program offered in hospitals outside of a clinical trial setting.
Australia has one of the highest rates of food allergies among children in the world. Some 3% of Australian children aged 12 months have a peanut allergy, according to government data. Of those, only 20% will outgrow their allergy by adolescence.
Kirsten Chatwin, mother of a nine-month-old baby who developed hives after eating peanut butter, said she wanted to take part in the program to “try to improve his chances of being able to eat peanuts safely in the future.”
“Many families are desperate to protect their children from allergic reactions and anaphylaxis.” – a severe allergic reaction – and “The fact that this program is available and free in public hospitals is a game changer” she explains.
If successful, the programme will be rolled out on a larger scale, including in remote areas of the country.
Deaths from peanut allergies are rare in Australia, but nearly 20 per cent of the population suffers from an allergy, according to data from Australia’s leading Allergy Institute.
This figure is estimated to increase by 70% by 2050, affecting 7.7 million Australians.