1 in 10 Australian babies have a food allergy

Presentation of allergy is increasing worldwide, with Australia ranked at the top of the list. Nearly 10% of all infants born in Australia have some sort of food allergy and hospital admissions for severe allergic reactions, or anaphylaxis, have doubled over the past decade. It's happening in the USA and the UK, and more concerning, it's happening in countries where food allergy was until the 2000s extremely uncommon. On the program today we speak to Dr. Jennifer Koplin Head of the Population and Allergy Group at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, and Maria Said, CEO of Allergy and Anaphylaxis Australia and co-chair of the National Allergy Strategy.

Food allergy can be prevented in 80% of high risk babies if it's introduced before the age of 1 Source: Photo by Rachael Gorjestani on Unsplash