Áine Brady (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

I am taking the Adjournment on behalf of my colleague, Deputy Mary Harney, the Minister for Health and Children and I thank Senator Maria Corrigan for raising this issue. This is an important matter, not least for those who might be affected and their families as it can have very serious consequences. Anaphylaxis is an acute, allergic type response which can involve multiple body systems - cardiovascular, respiratory, skin as well as mucosal - and may rapidly progress to a severe, life-threatening reaction. It may occur following exposure to allergens from a variety of sources including food, insect bites or stings, as well as medicines and vaccines.

The life-threatening nature of severe allergy makes it a serious condition. Symptoms include itching, tingling around the mouth and back of the throat, a sudden drop in blood pressure and difficulty in breathing. In severe cases anaphylaxis can result in death. Most attacks can be reversed with an injection of adrenaline. The key is avoidance, along with a combination of proper diagnosis, attention to food labelling and the availability of emergency medication such as Anapen.

Any medicine may trigger an anaphylactic shock. In relation to vaccines, the immunisation guidelines issued to all GPs include details for treatment of anaphylaxis following a vaccine dose. Anaphylaxis is very rare in relation to immunisation, 0.42 per million doses. The Irish Medicines Board, IMB, continues to advise health care professionals to be prepared to treat allergic reactions, including rare cases of anaphylaxis, when administering any vaccine.

The IMB has a robust and well established national reporting system to monitor adverse reactions to medication. Reports of suspected adverse reactions are encouraged and received from health care professionals and patients. Pharmaceutical companies are obliged to report any suspected serious adverse reaction occurring in Ireland to the Irish Medicines Board.

A food allergy can be defined as an immune response to food that the body incorrectly recognises as harmful. Antibodies are produced and this leads to a histamine release. This can cause allergic symptoms including asthma, rhinitis, conjunctivitis and anaphylaxis. Although anyone can have an allergic reaction to anything at any time, for those who have a diagnosed allergy, the life long treatment is avoidance of that food which causes allergy. Therefore, individuals need to know what is in their food and whether there is a potential risk associated with it. Reading food labels to determine whether or not an allergen is present is crucial in managing an allergy and avoidance of anaphylaxis.

There is legislation in place to protect those with allergies. Annex IIIa of European Directive 2000/13/EC on labelling, advertising and presentation of foodstuffs requires manufacturers to declare the presence of known allergens in their food products. There are currently 14 categories of ingredients according to EU legislation, namely, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, soybeans, milk, celery and celeriac, mustard, sesame seeds, sulphur dioxide and sulphites, peanuts, tree nuts, molluscs and lupins. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has responsibility for overall labelling and allergen labelling legislation.

The food control services in Ireland are aware of the potentially severe effects on certain groups of the population of foods which contain allergens, foods which may become cross-contaminated with allergens during preparation or foods containing allergens which are not properly labelled. According to the FSAI, it is estimated that approximately 5% of children and, on average, 3% of adults in Ireland have food allergies.

Environmental health officers in the HSE have been provided with training on the management of allergens in the catering and manufacturing sectors, which should assist in preventing cross-contamination and ensuring labels bear the appropriate information. The HSE has also undertaken a considerable amount of training for nurses, especially those involved in vaccination programmes, which makes this expertise more widely available in the system. In the past year, a significant number of pharmacists have also participated in vaccination skills training as part of their continuing professional development. Management of anaphylaxis is a core part of this training. I am glad this subject was raised and that I have had the opportunity to provide information on the matter.