He has networked, nagged and bullied to raise tens of thousands of dollars through fundraising and personal donations for Allergy New Zealand and is truly deserving of the knighthood conferred on him in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in June.
So how do you thank the Honorary Ambassador Sir Peter Charles Leitch QSM for all his wonderful support given to countless New Zealanders? Allergy New Zealand has acknowledged this by launching The Leitch Family Award for Food Allergy Research at its National Conference in August.
“This is a small way to thank you but it is the best way we can think of to acknowledge you,” chief executive Penny Jorgensen told Sir Peter. “On behalf of all those living with food allergies as well as everyone at Allergy New Zealand, we thank Peter and the Leitch Family from the bottom of our hearts.”
Sir Peter’s support and generosity over the past few years is immeasurable. Earlier this year, Penny spoke with him about plans to launch a fundraising campaign to establish a research programme into the impact and burden of food allergy in New Zealand.
“You immediately reached into your pocket and made a donation of $10,000 to launch this,” Penny said.
The organisation has been fundraising for food allergy research since May this year, and so far has close to $13,500, thanks to Sir Peter’s kick-start.
The research fund will be an ongoing and significant annual project for as long as research is needed, and Allergy New Zealand will continue to raise proceeds.
The Board has been working on a grants process, which it will discuss in more detail with Allergy New Zealand’s medical panel. However, at least one special grant will be made each year with the Leitch Family Award for Food Allergy Research.
The Food Allergy Research Fund was set up because at least 10 babies born everyday* go on to develop food allergies.
“We have been asked why we are putting our energy into research when there are so many other things the organisation needs to do,” Penny said.
“The answer is that in order to advocate for better allergy services, for an adrenaline auto-injector to be funded, for more support through government services and for national allergy and anaphylaxis guidelines to be adopted by schools and early childhood education centres (to name a few), we need to show the prevalence and burden of food allergies in New Zealand, and the cost of doing nothing to alleviate the burden. We have been working on all these things, but we can’t get much traction on these until we have the data and the evidence.”
You can make a donation by going to www.allergy.org.nz or by calling 0800 34 0800.
* Based on 62,960 live births registered in the June 2009 Statistics New Zealand; 6-8 per cent of children under the age of five are affected by food allergy according to international research. The 10 per day is the conservative estimate of 6 per cent of children who have food allergy.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Peanuts on planes
I have been following a heated debate that is raging in the US and Canada over whether peanuts should be banned from airlines.
Obviously it would make life easier for those with peanut allergy to travel, but peanut farmers (of which there are large numbers) are concerned this could cause them a huge financial dent.
Interestingly, world-leading allergy specialist Dr Scott Sicherer, who studies food allergies at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York,
says that a few limited studies on airline passengers with peanut allergies found a number of people reporting symptoms while flying, but few were severe or life-threatening.
"But there's discomfort. It's sort of like if you were allergic to dogs and all of a sudden they brought 50 dogs onto the plane," he told the Associated Press.
And there's the fact you are 30,000 feet in the air, and in an enclosed space.
A number of airlines in the US no longer serve nuts.
You can read a the article here:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g2S0w5Glr5B56Ybd7RnBN99ZgGQAD9G99EAO0
What are your thoughts on the issue? Do you think there should be a ban? Or do you travel on airlines that don't serve nuts?
Have you (or a member of your family) ever had a reaction on an airline?
I'd love to hear your views.
Inga Stünzner
Information and Communication
Obviously it would make life easier for those with peanut allergy to travel, but peanut farmers (of which there are large numbers) are concerned this could cause them a huge financial dent.
Interestingly, world-leading allergy specialist Dr Scott Sicherer, who studies food allergies at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York,
says that a few limited studies on airline passengers with peanut allergies found a number of people reporting symptoms while flying, but few were severe or life-threatening.
"But there's discomfort. It's sort of like if you were allergic to dogs and all of a sudden they brought 50 dogs onto the plane," he told the Associated Press.
And there's the fact you are 30,000 feet in the air, and in an enclosed space.
A number of airlines in the US no longer serve nuts.
You can read a the article here:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g2S0w5Glr5B56Ybd7RnBN99ZgGQAD9G99EAO0
What are your thoughts on the issue? Do you think there should be a ban? Or do you travel on airlines that don't serve nuts?
Have you (or a member of your family) ever had a reaction on an airline?
I'd love to hear your views.
Inga Stünzner
Information and Communication
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Can the future of peanut allergy be predicted in infants with egg and milk allergy?
10 May 2010: Early results from a study of more than 500 infants with egg or milk allergy indicate that they are highly likely to test positive for allergic antibodies that are specific to peanuts. This unexpected finding suggests that these infants are at risk for developing peanut allergy later in life and should be evaluated by a health care professional before introducing peanuts into their diet.
The findings appear in the May issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. These are the first published results from the clinical group of the Consortium of Food Allergy Research (CoFAR), a major food allergy research program supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health.
Eggs, milk and peanuts are the three most common allergenic foods for infants. An infant who already has a milk or egg allergy is known to be at risk for later developing a peanut allergy. Another risk factor for peanut allergy is moderate to severe eczema (atopic dermatitis). This is the first systematic study, however, of the natural development of these three food allergies in very young children.
This observational study has enrolled infants between 3 and 15 months old. All have immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies to egg or milk. Some of these infants have known clinical allergy to eggs or milk, some have moderate to severe eczema, and some have both allergy and eczema. None of the infants has known peanut allergy. These infants will be followed until 5 years of age to see if their allergy to milk or eggs continues or resolves, and to see if they develop an additional allergy to peanuts.
As part of the initial assessment of the infants, the CoFAR investigators measured the level of IgE antibody to peanuts. They made two unexpected observations: More of the infants have elevated levels of IgE antibody to peanuts than the investigators had anticipated, and some of these infants have such high levels that they may already be allergic to peanuts without their parents being aware of it.
The researchers encourage parents of children with egg or milk allergy to talk to their doctor before incorporating peanuts or peanut products into their child's diet.
Source: www.niaid.nih.gov
Article: SH Sicherer et al. Immunologic features of infants with milk or egg allergy enrolled in an observational study (CoFAR) of food allergy. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2010.02.038 (2010).
The findings appear in the May issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. These are the first published results from the clinical group of the Consortium of Food Allergy Research (CoFAR), a major food allergy research program supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health.
Eggs, milk and peanuts are the three most common allergenic foods for infants. An infant who already has a milk or egg allergy is known to be at risk for later developing a peanut allergy. Another risk factor for peanut allergy is moderate to severe eczema (atopic dermatitis). This is the first systematic study, however, of the natural development of these three food allergies in very young children.
This observational study has enrolled infants between 3 and 15 months old. All have immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies to egg or milk. Some of these infants have known clinical allergy to eggs or milk, some have moderate to severe eczema, and some have both allergy and eczema. None of the infants has known peanut allergy. These infants will be followed until 5 years of age to see if their allergy to milk or eggs continues or resolves, and to see if they develop an additional allergy to peanuts.
As part of the initial assessment of the infants, the CoFAR investigators measured the level of IgE antibody to peanuts. They made two unexpected observations: More of the infants have elevated levels of IgE antibody to peanuts than the investigators had anticipated, and some of these infants have such high levels that they may already be allergic to peanuts without their parents being aware of it.
The researchers encourage parents of children with egg or milk allergy to talk to their doctor before incorporating peanuts or peanut products into their child's diet.
Source: www.niaid.nih.gov
Article: SH Sicherer et al. Immunologic features of infants with milk or egg allergy enrolled in an observational study (CoFAR) of food allergy. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2010.02.038 (2010).
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Allergy Awareness Week kicks off 16-22 May
The theme for this year’s Allergy Awareness Week (16-22 May) is ‘Allergies — no walk in the park’.
Do you find that one of the hardest parts of dealing with an allergy is having people take it seriously? For most of us, once our - or our kids' - allergies are diagnosed and managed, we look like anyone else (although more healthy I think!). So the focus is then on convincing people that it is, indeed, a condition that must be taken seriously.
The aim of Allergy Awareness Week is draw to people's attention the significant impact allergies have on individuals and families.
Can you help?
In order for Allergy Awareness Week to be a success, we need you — members of our allergic community — to get behind us by:
• Contacting your school or community library to see if they can put up a display
• Volunteering yourself to be interviewed by your local media to highlight the impact allergies have on your life. This can be any type of allergy, and the focus is on how the support of those around you made the difference.
If you can help Allergy New Zealand with schools and libraries, please email mail@allergy.org.nz.
If you can help with our media campaign, please email me inga@allergy.org.nz.
The best way to show the rest of our communities that we need their support is to show how this makes the allergic journey so much easier to travel. So if you have some good experiences, please share them below and hopefully it will inspire others to pass on the goodwill.
Inga Stünzner
Information and Communication
Allergy New Zealand
Do you find that one of the hardest parts of dealing with an allergy is having people take it seriously? For most of us, once our - or our kids' - allergies are diagnosed and managed, we look like anyone else (although more healthy I think!). So the focus is then on convincing people that it is, indeed, a condition that must be taken seriously.
The aim of Allergy Awareness Week is draw to people's attention the significant impact allergies have on individuals and families.
Can you help?
In order for Allergy Awareness Week to be a success, we need you — members of our allergic community — to get behind us by:
• Contacting your school or community library to see if they can put up a display
• Volunteering yourself to be interviewed by your local media to highlight the impact allergies have on your life. This can be any type of allergy, and the focus is on how the support of those around you made the difference.
If you can help Allergy New Zealand with schools and libraries, please email mail@allergy.org.nz.
If you can help with our media campaign, please email me inga@allergy.org.nz.
The best way to show the rest of our communities that we need their support is to show how this makes the allergic journey so much easier to travel. So if you have some good experiences, please share them below and hopefully it will inspire others to pass on the goodwill.
Inga Stünzner
Information and Communication
Allergy New Zealand
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Travel to Fiji - a call for help!
We received an email through our website about travelling to Fiji and dealing with a food allergy.
Do you have any suggestions?
"I have booked a holiday in fiji. I assumed a 'five star' resort with many resteraunts would be able to accomodate food allergies. They tell me they cannot accomodate such dietry requirements (egg, dairy and nut free except coconut)and have not yet let me know if they can provide a kitchen for me...
They also advise me that the nearest hospital is three hours away and that helicopters do not operate after sunset.
If anyone has personal experiance with Fiji I would be glad to hear from them. As far as I am concerned we are going (complete with emergency drugs and staple foods). Please can you advise me on five star resourts and their usual abilities?? Where to go from here??
Appreciate your response. Holiday is in July/August 2010".
If you have any suggestions (constructive), please post away.
Do you have any suggestions?
"I have booked a holiday in fiji. I assumed a 'five star' resort with many resteraunts would be able to accomodate food allergies. They tell me they cannot accomodate such dietry requirements (egg, dairy and nut free except coconut)and have not yet let me know if they can provide a kitchen for me...
They also advise me that the nearest hospital is three hours away and that helicopters do not operate after sunset.
If anyone has personal experiance with Fiji I would be glad to hear from them. As far as I am concerned we are going (complete with emergency drugs and staple foods). Please can you advise me on five star resourts and their usual abilities?? Where to go from here??
Appreciate your response. Holiday is in July/August 2010".
If you have any suggestions (constructive), please post away.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Easter egg hunting
Easter (religious aspects aside) is about children having a lovely time, hunting for Easter eggs.
But for parents who have children with food allergies, it's also a hunt, albeit one that begins months before and is often associated with large doses of stress! Searching for a safe chocolate Easter egg can sometimes feel a little like searching for the Holy Grail.
I belong to our Central Auckland support group, and thanks to two of our members, we have been alerted to the fact that K-Mart is stocking Kinnerton Easter eggs.
This information has led to a flurry of activity - I collided with a fellow member at the St Lukes K-Mart as stampeded the aisles in search of this egg, only to leave empty handed and gutted when there was nothing there.
But another super-chocolate-sleuther called up K-Mart, put the hard questions to them and discovered the eggs are being stocked, but only a few at a time. The wonderful member found out the barcode and passed this on to the rest of our group.
Give your local K-Mart a call if you are looking for an egg that is dairy, egg, wheat and nut free (it contains soy lecithin, which the majority of people with soy allergy can tolerate, but check this with your specialist first).
Here is the information: “Egg and Bar Casket”, and the sku/bar code is 5010775166646. They are $16.50 each.
If K-Mart sees the demand for Kinnerton chocolate, hopefully they will stock it all the time.
Happy Easter Egg hunting — and hopefully your kids will enjoy it too when it's their turn.
If you know of any other chocolate and where to get it, post away!
Inga Stünzner
Information Officer
Allergy New Zealand
But for parents who have children with food allergies, it's also a hunt, albeit one that begins months before and is often associated with large doses of stress! Searching for a safe chocolate Easter egg can sometimes feel a little like searching for the Holy Grail.
I belong to our Central Auckland support group, and thanks to two of our members, we have been alerted to the fact that K-Mart is stocking Kinnerton Easter eggs.
This information has led to a flurry of activity - I collided with a fellow member at the St Lukes K-Mart as stampeded the aisles in search of this egg, only to leave empty handed and gutted when there was nothing there.
But another super-chocolate-sleuther called up K-Mart, put the hard questions to them and discovered the eggs are being stocked, but only a few at a time. The wonderful member found out the barcode and passed this on to the rest of our group.
Give your local K-Mart a call if you are looking for an egg that is dairy, egg, wheat and nut free (it contains soy lecithin, which the majority of people with soy allergy can tolerate, but check this with your specialist first).
Here is the information: “Egg and Bar Casket”, and the sku/bar code is 5010775166646. They are $16.50 each.
If K-Mart sees the demand for Kinnerton chocolate, hopefully they will stock it all the time.
Happy Easter Egg hunting — and hopefully your kids will enjoy it too when it's their turn.
If you know of any other chocolate and where to get it, post away!
Inga Stünzner
Information Officer
Allergy New Zealand
Monday, February 15, 2010
First blog for the year! Food bans!
We're half way through February, so it seems a little redundant to say 'Happy New Year'.
A couple of weeks ago, this article appeared in the Australian newspaper, The Sunday Telegraph "Schools banned food list has gone nuts".
http://bit.ly/cWUiqs
Out of this story, the Herald on Sunday ran a similar article "Kids lunch box time bombs".
http://bit.ly/aoB7Vr
It's important to differentiate between schools and early childhood education centres, as the general consensus is that removing highly spreadable and allergenic foods, such as peanut butter, egg sandwiches or yoghurt (if there is a child with peanut, egg or milk allergy) is appropriate for younger children.
If you have a school-aged child at risk of anaphylaxis (and not just to food), how has your school managed this?
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