Australia has started a revolutionary plan which provides a new cure for babies having peanut allergies. This is the first world approach that has been made in dealing with such potentially fatal condition.
Context and Importance
According to reports, this treatment will involve giving children diagnosed with peanuts sensitivity increasingly higher doses of peanut powder over at least two years so as to build their immunity and decrease their reaction towards peanuts. Different selected pediatric hospitals across Australia will be used for administering this treatment. While oral immunotherapy clinical trials have shown some good signs, there has never been any national model of care for peanut allergy like this before.
Innovation Protocol
It is no secret that Australia has one of the highest rates of allergies in the world with about 1 in 10 infants being diagnosed with some form of food allergy hence why it is sometimes called “allergy capital”. Researchers hope that these findings could change everything we know about treating allergies and bring relief not only to Australians but also other people struggling from this particular type of hypersensitivity too. “This may just be what was needed to stop this awful allergy in its tracks forever,” said Assistant Minister for Health Ged Kearney.
Programme Information and Who Can Join?
This programme is free and only open to babies below one year old who have already been identified as having a peanut allergy while receiving medical attention from any of the ten participating hospitals country wide. Dr Lara Ford an allergist at Westmead Children’s Hospital said, “For many families living with peanut allergy, accidental exposure is their biggest fear. This program could take away that worry forever.”
Treatment & Monitoring
Each child will be given specific doses until they reach what is known as a ‘maintenance dose’ which should then be sustained over two years explained Tim Brettig who leads this initiative but he also cautions that there might be slight reactions by some children so parents should not worry so much because those are normal side effects to expect unless there are other underlying conditions involved in which case more serious measures might be necessary. At the end of their treatment children will undergo food allergy testing just to confirm if they have gone into remission or not.
Future Prospects and Precautions
The national allergy centre of excellence will be responsible for evaluating how effective this program is as well as its safety with a view to rolling out in more public and private hospitals across the country but doctors are warning against home-based oral immunotherapy without any form of professional supervision.
To summarize, Australia’s new peanut cure system represents significant progress in managing allergies thereby giving hope for better care among affected infants who may now also have reduced chances of falling sick due to their allergic conditions.
