Peanut Allergy Could Be A Thing Of The Past As Researchers Nears ‘Cure’

To the millions who are allergic to peanuts, the ‘second most common food allergy’ can finally be a thing of the past as Aussie researchers near cure for the allergy. Adelaide researchers in Australia say they are on the cusp of developing a new vaccine which tricks the body into not reacting to potentially deadly allergens.

"What eventually happens is that it stops producing those molecules that are responsible for the allergic reaction," Eldi said. "We do hope that this is the first vaccine in a line and yes, we would like to target other nuts, researcher Preethi Eldi 

"In Australia, about three per cent of babies are peanut allergic and 80 per cent of those will stay for life."

Peanut allergy occurs in about 1 in 50 children and 1 in 200 adults and is the most likely food to cause anaphylaxis and in some cases, even death. The cure they've developed has worked well with blood samples and they're keen to get to the next step, which is clinical trials.

Early trials prove the vaccine has been working but researchers are still waiting for clinical trials to commence by 2021.

Ms Eldi is hoping if the vaccine proves to be successful, it could lead to other immunisations that help with food allergies.