May 20, 2008
Senate Subcommittee Hears Plans to Aid Children With Food Allergies
The U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Children and Families held hearings May 14 on ways to protect children with food allergies. An estimated 12 million Americans--2.2 million of them school-age children--have food allergies, some of them potentially fatal. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health, said research funding for food allergies has increased from $1.2 million in fiscal year 2003 to $13.4 million in 2008. NIAID-supported research includes basic and preclinical research on the immune mechanisms involved, research to understand the epidemiology and genetics of the allergies, and clinical studies to treat and prevent them, he said. The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) unveiled a five-step program to improve the lives of those with allergies, including guidelines for schools. Dr. Hugh Simpson, president of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, told the senators his organization supported FAAN’s initiative.
The initiative can be found at http://www.foodallergy.org/media/press_releases/FAAN_Unveils_Five_Steps.pdf
and the Senate subcommittee's page on the hearings is at http://help.senate.gov/Hearings/2008_05_14/2008_05_14.html.
