Britain failing to tackle allergy epidemic

LONDON (Reuters) - Allergy has reached epidemic proportions in the UK, but the health service is ill-equipped to deal with the growing problem, a report said on Wednesday.

The House of Lords science and technology committee said a lack of specialist medical clinics, and minimal allergy training, has meant that services for allergy patients lag far behind those of many other Western European countries.

Specialist medical centres should be set up in every strategic health authority to act as "clusters of expertise", it recommended and increased training should be given to medical students and GPs.

The committee also said labelling should be improved to avoid the "vague and defensive" warnings currently being used which leads to confusion and an unnecessary restriction of choice.

It should be replaced by information that clearly specifies the amount of each allergen contained within the product.

The committee also called on the government to stop advising pregnant women and young children to avoid eating peanuts, warning that the information was out of date and may actually increase the risk of developing peanut allergy.

Peanut allergy in England rose 117 percent between 2001 and 2005, the report said, with an estimated 25,700 people affected.

The committee looked at a series of allergies, including people who suffer reactions from food, hayfever, insect bites, drugs, foods and asthma.

About three million people each year consult their GP with conditions related to allergy, at a cost of up to 311 million pounds.