World Allergy Week: From disease burden to prevention and health promotion

From disease burden to prevention and health promotion

 

• Allergies and asthma are a public health concern of pandemic proportions that requires an immediate and coordinated response. Prevention and control are the best cost-efficient way to decrease the disease burden
   

Zurich, 7 April 2016 – The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) is using its 60th anniversary to highlight the value of prevention and health promotion during the World Allergy Week, which will be marked around the world from 4 to 10 April.

 

Asthma and allergic diseases, which include atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, food allergy, are a public health concern of pandemic proportions that requires immediate and coordinated response.

 

Allergies to pollen are the most prevalent allergies in the world, followed by allergies against house dust mites. 150 million Europeans have allergic rhinitis. By 2025, more than 50 percent of all Europeans will suffer from some type of allergy. Disease prevention is vital to controlling this growing public health burden. If patients in Europe were treated appropriately with available cost-effective treatments, savings of €142 billion each year could be made.

 

According to the EAACI Interest Group on Aerobiology and Pollution, "Climate change and globalization are affecting local natural habitats, so consequently the exposure to pollen is changing. Small changes in temperature can already have a large impact on pollen exposure."

 

Accurate diagnosis and early treatment can bring lasting relief

The most optimal way for allergy sufferers to experience relief is to receive an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment early. The safest way to manage allergy symptoms is to treat them before they set in. Allergy specialists have the professional expertise to help pinpoint and confirm the allergies and offer advice on treatment and environmental control options that can reduce symptoms and improve the quality of life.

 

Cost-efficient prevention and control of allergies and asthma are available

 

We have tools to prevent allergic disease by guiding avoidance (e.g. pollen monitoring). Unfortunately, although pollen is easy and cost-effective to monitor, the density, quality and continuity of the existing pollen volunteer-based monitoring networks is diminishing. This reduces the level of information about biological air quality (pollen, moulds and bacteria), especially when compared to chemical air quality data.

 

EAACI is urging officials and governments to maintain a biological air quality and to use this information to estimate future allergenic exposure and its consequences for health.

Additional information and content in other languages 

Get a backgrounder on the topic of allergies or access this press release and the allergy backgrounder
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About EAACI

The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) is a non-profit organisation active in the field of allergic and immunologic diseases such as asthma, rhinitis, eczema, occupational allergy, food and drug allergy, and anaphylaxis. EAACI was founded in 1956 in Florence and has become the largest medical association in Europe in the field of allergy and clinical immunology. It includes over 9,000 members from 121 countries, as well as 52 National Allergy Societies.