Australia becomes first country to offer babies peanut allergy treatment

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Australia has become the first country to offer oral immunotherapy treatment to babies with peanut allergies in an effort to build immunity.

Ten paediatric hospitals in five states have partnered with the National Allergy Centre of Excellence, or NACE, to run a nationwide peanut oral immunotherapy programme.

Allergic babies will be given small daily doses of peanut powder for two years under supervision and doses will be increased over time to reduce sensitivity to peanuts, officials said on Wednesday.

It is the first national peanut allergy treatment programme outside of a clinical trial, said Kirsten Perrett, head of oral immunotherapy at NACE.

"Ultimately we want to change the trajectory of allergic disease in Australia so more children can go to school without the risk of a life-threatening peanut reaction," Ms Perrett was quoted as saying by the ABC.

She said the children will be followed in routine clinical care for at least 12 months to evaluate the quality of life and longterm outcomes. A food allergy test will be conducted at the end of the two years to determine if the treatment led to a remission.

Tim Brettig, head of the programme, said peanut powder is introduced to the babies with other food in a small amount.

“Under supervision, each child has increases in dose each month at a level that should not cause a reaction for that child,” he told the ABC.

“Eventually they will reach a maintenance dose, where they will then stay and continue this dose for up to two years before stopping to see if this treatment has been effective.”

The free programme however is only available to children under 12 months diagnosed with a peanut allergy and receiving care from an allergist at one of the participating hospitals.

Three out of 100 Australian children develop a peanut allergy before turning one and only about 20 per cent outgrow their allergy by teenage, according to government data.

Assistant minister for health Ged Kearney described the programme as a big step towards combating peanut allergies.

"This new model of care might be the gamechanger we have all wanted to stop this terrible allergy in its tracks,” the minister said.

A nine-month-old baby enrolled in the programme developed hives after having peanut butter at six months old.

"We are taking part in the programme to try and improve his chance of being able to safely eat peanuts in the future,” the baby’s mother Kirsten Chatwin said.

“Many families are desperate to protect their children from allergic reactions and anaphylaxis. To have this programme available and free at public hospitals is a gamechanger."