WHY IS PRAWN ALLERGY A PARTICULAR CONCERN IN SINGAPORE?
Shellfish allergy is one of the most common food allergies in Singapore, affecting an estimated 90,000 to 150,000 people, according to NUH.
Previous Singapore studies cited by the hospital found that shellfish allergy affects about 5.2 per cent of adolescents. Shellfish is also the leading cause of food-related anaphylaxis seen in Singapore emergency departments, accounting for 14 per cent of food-induced anaphylaxis cases.
Unlike allergies to foods such as milk or eggs, which many children eventually outgrow, shellfish allergy typically develops during adolescence or adulthood and often persists for life. An allergic reaction can range from hives and swelling to potentially life-threatening anaphylaxis.
“For people living with prawn allergy, avoiding prawn is currently the only effective management strategy,” said Dr Lydia Wong, the principal investigator of the study and a consultant with NUH’s Division of Paediatric Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology. “This can be challenging in Singapore, where shellfish is widely used in many local dishes and cross-contamination is difficult to avoid.”
WHAT IS ORAL IMMUNOTHERAPY?
Oral immunotherapy exposes patients to carefully controlled amounts of the food they are allergic to, rather than completely avoiding it. The amount is gradually increased under medical supervision, with the aim of changing how the immune system responds to the allergen.