Search

News & Events

A dose of the whooping cough vaccine might reduce cases of childhood food allergies according to latest research by the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases based at The Kids Research Institute Australia.

Research

Food allergies have become more common in our community, with up to one in ten young children now affected. Reactions can range from mild hives to life threatening anaphylaxis and breathing difficulties. The most common food allergies are to egg, peanut, tree nuts, cow’s milk, fish, shellfish, sesame, wheat and soy.

Research

Meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials have found that introducing eggs and peanuts earlier during infancy reduced egg and peanut allergy risk. Hence, infant feeding advice has dramatically changed from previous recommendations of avoidance to current recommendations of inclusion of common food allergens in infant diets.

Research

Food allergy affects families' quality of life, can be lifelong and life-threatening, urging the identification of early modifiable risk factors. Formula feeding in the first days of life may increase the risk of cow's milk allergy, a risk often attributed to cow's milk allergens exposure. Early formula feeding also reduces the colostrum intake, the first 3 days' milk, which is rich in bioactive compounds critical for immune and gut health. This study investigates whether partial colostrum feeding increases the risk of food allergy beyond cow's milk.

Research

The incidence of anaphylaxis is increasing globally in tandem with changing environmental and lifestyle factors. There is very limited data on very early childhood presentations. We aim to assess changes in rates, characteristics and management of infant anaphylaxis in a paediatric ED over a 15-year period.

Research

Food allergy is a major public health challenge in Australia. Despite widespread uptake of infant feeding and allergy prevention guidelines the incidence of peanut allergy in infants has not fallen, and prevalence of peanut allergy in school-aged children continues to rise. Therefore, effective and accessible treatments for peanut allergy are required.

Research

Peanut allergy is the most common food allergy in Australian school-aged children and is rarely outgrown. Access to oral immunotherapy (OIT), a disease-modifying treatment for food allergy, is limited in many regions of the world, including Australia.

Research

Remission is the desired outcome following OIT as it allows individuals to discontinue treatment and eat the allergen freely. Early initiation of OIT in infants and toddlers has been embraced as an approach to increase the likelihood of remission. However, there is no high-quality evidence supporting younger age as an independent factor driving remission; available studies are limited by small samples of younger subjects and lack of adjustment for confounding covariates, particularly peanut-specific IgE (sIgE) levels which is closely cor

Research

The pivotal phase 3 EPITOPE trial, a 12-month, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of epicutaneous immunotherapy with the VIASKIN patch containing 250 μg of peanut protein (VP250), previously reported significant treatment response versus placebo in peanut-allergic toddlers aged 1 through 3 years.

Research

The Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) Guideline: Infant Feeding for Food Allergy Prevention is an update of the 2016 ASCIA guideline. This updated guideline provides recommendations specifically in relation to infant feeding for food allergy prevention.