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Australia starts world-first peanut allergy treatment for babies

Researchers hope the program could transform care in what is often called the "allergy capital of the world".

The aim is to raise their tolerance threshold and lower the risk - and anxiety - posed by exposure to peanuts, with results measured by a food allergy test at the end of the treatment. "In some cases, [the threshold] might be so high that they can eat peanut in their diet freely, for others it might raise it to a level where accidental exposures wouldn't result in an allergic reaction." “Ultimately, we want to change the trajectory of allergic disease in Australia so that more children can go to school without the risk of a life-threatening peanut reaction," said Professor Kirsten Perrett, Director of the National Allergy Centre of Excellence (NACE).

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