Robyn O'Brien--

Potential Allergen in H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine May Put Children at Risk- New Test Reveals Both Presence and Severity of the Allergy

The World Health Organization recently declared H1N1 swine flu a global pandemic, resulting in the creation of rigorous vaccination programs worldwide and anxiety among parents of children with food allergies.  

Most H1N1 swine flu vaccines are prepared from virus grown in chicken’s eggs, resulting in a vaccine that contains remnants of egg proteins. Egg allergy is one of the most common food allergies in infants and young children. The allergy can be mild or severe but oftentimes the severity level remains unidentified. Whether a child will be at low or high risk for a clinical reaction as a consequence of receiving this vaccine depends upon the severity of their allergy. As the number of swine flu vaccinations increases, the likelihood of clinical reactions occurring in children with an undetected severe egg allergy intensifies.

Following exposure to egg, children with this allergy may suffer from clinical reactions including rash, gastrointestinal and respiratory infections and even anaphylaxis. In a press release issued last month, the US Food and Drug Administration recommended against H1N1 influenza vaccination for people with severe or life-threatening allergies to chicken eggs. Determining the severity of egg allergy is essential to knowing whether or not a child can safely receive the H1N1 swine flu vaccine.

A new test is available to determine the severity of a child’s egg allergy.  A Swedish corporation, Phadia, offers lab testing to accurately diagnose and identify severity level of egg allergy. ImmunoCAP, Phadia’s precise, reliable allergy test that measures IgE antibodies, indicates clinical reaction to both egg white (f1) and ovomucoid (f233). The f1 test will help the physician to confirm or rule out an allergy to egg white. If an allergy to egg white is confirmed, the f233 follow-up test can be conducted to identify the severity of egg allergy and whether the child is at low or high risk for clinical reaction. Phadia is the only company to offer this important follow-up test.

Phadia’s ImmunoCAP allergy test system facilitates diagnosis in children with suspected egg allergy, and, upon diagnosis, determines the level of allergy severity. These tests allow physicians to provide timely advice to parents and caregivers anxious to know whether or not their child should receive the H1N1 swine flu vaccine.  

For more information, please contact:  Phadia Inc.: Magnus Borres, M.D., Medical Director  contact@phadia.com

According to the New York Times, Robyn O’Brien is “Food’s Erin Brockovich.” Robyn is the founder of AllergyKids, an organization designed to protect the 1 in 3 American children with autism, allergies, ADHD and asthma. Robyn has appeared on the Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS Evening News with Katie Couric and CNN highlighting the role that chemicals in our food supply are having on our health. O'Brien is the author of The Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food Is Making Us Sick and What We Can Do About It (Random House/ May 2009) and it exposes the role that money plays in our federal food policy.  Born and raised in Texas, Robyn earned a Fulbright Fellowship, an MBA and served as an equity analyst on a multibillion dollar fund prior to moving to Boulder, Colorado with her husband and four children. Additional resources, articles and information are available at www.robynobrien.com and www.allergykids.com

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