The Albanese Labor Government is supporting babies with a peanut allergy by funding a groundbreaking new program.
Peanut allergies can be deadly, even very tiny amounts of peanut - touched, breathed in or eaten - can cause a life-threatening reaction (anaphylaxis). At one year of age, about three in 100 children are allergic to peanuts.
The Albanese Labor Government is funding the National Allergy Centre of Excellence (NACE) to deliver the ADAPT Oral Immunotherapy Program.
The program aims to change the way peanut allergy is treated, moving from strictly avoiding peanut in diets to safely building a tolerance to the allergen and achieving remission.
The NACE, hosted by Murdoch Children's Research Institute, has partnered with ten paediatric hospitals across five states to launch the program into mainstream care.
The oral immunotherapy treatment will be free for children under the age of one, who are diagnosed with peanut allergy and receiving care by an allergist at one of the participating hospitals.
Hospitals participating in the program include:
- Royal Children's Hospital (VIC);
- Perth Children's Hospital and Fiona Stanley Hospital (WA);
- Queensland Children's Hospital (QLD);
- Women's and Children's Health Network (SA);
- Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick (NSW);
- The Children's Hospital at Westmead (NSW);
- John Hunter Children's Hospital Newcastle (NSW);
- Campbelltown Hospital (NSW); and
- The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (NSW).
The Albanese Labor Government is treating allergies as a serious public health issue that affects millions of Australians, providing $27 million to establish the National Allergy Centre of Excellence and a National Allergy Council to drive Australia's response to allergies.
In addition, Murdoch Children's Research Institute received $2.5 million through the National Health and Medical Research Council's (NHMRC) Centres of Research Excellence (CRE) scheme to fund the Centre for Food Allergy Research. CREs bring together the best and brightest researchers who work collaboratively to find innovative and practical solutions for better health, including food allergies.
Quotes attributable to Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care
Ged Kearney MP:
"Having a little bub with a deadly peanut allergy brings so much worry for parents. From preparing food, to giving your baby a kiss, it's impossible to let your guard down.
"Too many children in Australia have a life-threatening peanut allergy. This new program will help change that.
"Labor is investing in our world class health and medical researchers to discover better ways to understand and treat allergies and anaphylaxis."
