The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is seeking public comment on a draft update to the 2010 Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Food Allergy in the US concerning the prevention of peanut allergies.
According to the institute, the addendum was prompted by findings discovered in the NIAID-funded Learning Early About Peanut (LEAP) study published last year. The study suggests introducing peanuts into the diets of infants at high risk of developing a peanut allergy leads to an 81 percent reduction in the development of an allergy.
Researchers based the study on observations that Israeli children have lower rates of peanut allergies compared to Jewish children of similar ancestry residing in the United Kingdom. Unlike children in the UK, Israeli children begin consuming peanut-containing foods early in life.
The new addendum provides three practical recommendations, intended for health care providers and parents and caregivers, to prevent the development of peanut allergy in infants.
Public comments will be accepted through April 18 and can be submitted here.
