This month in our research and advocacy section, you can learn about the important new changes The City of Hamilton has made with their city-owned facilities, and you can read the latest research in a newly published review from the Journal of the American Medical Association regarding the early introduction of egg and peanut in infants.
Advocacy
The City of Hamilton is now providing epinephrine auto-injectors to city-owned facilities
Hamilton, Ontario now has “stock” epinephrine available in city-owned facilities including all recreation centres, arenas, YWCA-senior centres, and community halls. Stock epinephrine is an auto-injector that is not prescribed to an individual and can be used to treat someone experiencing a severe allergic reaction.
The stock epinephrine is available for public and staff use during public program hours and all city facilities that have it will have a sign on the front door. Check out the press release from the City of Hamilton.
Food Allergy Canada was involved in the original City of Hamilton stock epinephrine pilot project in 2014 where security guards were carrying the epinephrine auto-injectors at Jackson Square shopping mall.
Research
Early introduction of egg and peanut: new findings
Introducing infants to egg at ages 4-6 months and peanut at ages 4-11 months is associated with reduced risk for allergy to those foods, noted the Journal of the American Medical Association in a newly published review. The findings are based on trials involving children at high or normal risk for each food allergy. Researchers concluded that early food introduction is not associated with increased risk for allergic or autoimmune diseases in any of the 146 studies reviewed.
In 2013, the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (CSACI) and the Canadian Pediatric Society highlighted that there is no reason to delay food introductions in a joint statement. The CSACI, along with other health and allergy organizations around the world, also endorsed early peanut introduction in 2015.
The CSACI will be providing further updates on early infant feeding guidelines based on the research, including which children are recommended to have an allergy evaluation before feeding. We’ll keep you informed as we learn more.
Read more about the English study.