Food allergy and intolerance has a major impact on quality of life not only for allergic consumers but their carers, family and the community at large. Food allergy can also be life threatening for those who suffer from anaphylaxis. Currently there isno readily available cure for food allergy; the treatment is life long avoidance of foods containing the allergen. It is generally reported that food allergy affects 1-2% of the population. In children this rate rises to between 5-8%, although many children outgrow allergies such as those to milk and egg by the time they have reached 5-7 years of age. However many of these individuals will develop allergies later in their adult life due to the re-activation of T-cell memory cells or overcoming of regulatory T-cell responses (Karlsson & others 2004) such as allergen-responsive CD4+CD25+ regulatory T-cells in children who have outgrown cow's milk allergy. These subsequent allergies may appear in different organs and appear to be unrelated to the original allergy exhibited as a child.
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