A nasal flu spray given to British schoolchildren is unlikely to trigger allergic reactions in youngsters who suffer from egg allergy and asthma, according to a new study.
Doctors from Southampton and Imperial College of London investigated the spray, known as live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) because it is cultured using hen's eggs and contains egg protein and at least one in 50 pre-school children in the UK suffer from egg allergy.
The study was launched after the British Department of Health recommended in 2012 the annual vaccination of children aged between two and 16 and there was no previous data available on the effect of young people with egg allergy and asthma.
Dr Mich Lajeunesse, a consultant paediatric immunologist at Southampton Children's Hospital, found in an initial study in 2013 that none of those immunised had "systematic or significant allergic reactions" to LAIV.
And a second study to confirm the findings, which is published in the BMJ, tested 779 young people aged two to 18 years with egg allergy.
Of these, nine participants (1.2 per cent) experienced mild symptoms such as a skin rash, sneezing or blocked nose and 221 experienced delayed effects but none required hospital treatment.
Dr Lajeunesse said: "This study confirms our previous findings that LAIV is unlikely to trigger a serious allergic reaction in young people with egg allergy.
"It also provides evidence that, with the exception of children with severe anaphylaxis to egg which have previously required intensive care, children with egg allergy can be safely vaccinated with LAIV in any setting, including primary care and schools."
