Information updates

ASCIA is aware that there is limited access to ambulances in some regions, due to issues related to the latest COVID-19 outbreaks, and in rural or remote settings. 

ASCIA's advice for people having anaphylaxis and their carers is as follows:

1. Follow the ASCIA Action Plan for Anaphylaxis.
2. Give an adrenaline (epinephrine) injector (EpiPen or Anapen) without delay. 
3. Always call 000 (AU) or 111 (NZ) after giving adrenaline and take advice regarding emergency management.

Further adrenaline (if available) should be given when:

• There is no response after five minutes.
• Signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis continue to progress.
• Signs and symptoms improve and then become worse again.

When there is limited or no access to an ambulance:

• The person who has been called to help should communicate with emergency services and arrange for themselves or another responsible person to transport the person to a hospital or other medical facility.
• Two people should ideally travel with the person having anaphylaxis, one to drive and the other to monitor their health.
• Where possible, do not allow the person who is having anaphylaxis to walk or stand as this may make their symptoms worse.* 

*For safety and legal reasons the person having anaphylaxis needs to be seated in a vehicle so that they can wear a seatbelt. The seatbelt may need to be adjusted so that it is snug over the chest and lap if the seat is:

• Reclined to make them as flat as possible.
• Pushed back to allow space to elevate their legs. 

When there is limited access to an ambulance, people who are at risk of anaphylaxis, and their carers should also consider:

• Taking extra care to reduce the risk of allergic reactions.
• Always carrying two prescribed adrenaline injectors with you everywhere.
• Discussing a plan before you are in an emergency situation.
• Checking where the nearest hospital is located if you are going away on holidays.
• If a third adrenaline injector is available, giving it 5 minutes after the second dose, if needed.

Patient and carer support is available from:

Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia www.allergyfacts.org.au

Allergy New Zealand www.allergy.org.nz

ASCIA anaphylaxis information is available at www.allergy.org.au/anaphylaxis  

This news item was issued on 11 January 2022 by the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA), the peak professional body for clinical immunology and allergy in Australia and New Zealand.

As the end of another challenging year is approaching, we thank ASCIA members and supporters for your highly valued contributions throughout the past year.

Despite the uncertainties during 2021, ASCIA has become an even stronger and more resilient organisation, with increased members, supporters, reach and recognition.

Highlights from 2021 include:

• Hosting of a highly successful ASCIA 2021 Virtual Conference with 694 delegates, the highest number of delegates on record for an ASCIA Annual Conference. In response to requests, access to on-demand ASCIA 2021 Virtual Conference recordings has been extended by two months, until 3 February 2022. This should allow registered delegates to catch up on missed sessions.
  allergy.org.au/conferences/ascia-annual-conference
• Increased membership, with over 700 ASCIA members as of December 2021. allergy.org.au/about-ascia#a4
• With more than 330 ASCIA online resources, the ASCIA website continues to attract a large number of visits. From 1st July 2020 to 30th June 2021 there were more than 3 million pageviews and 1.9 million visits and 1.5 million unique visitors, as well as 90,000 ASCIA e-training course registrations.  allergy.org.au/about-ascia/education-projects
• All ASCIA anaphylaxis online resources and e-training courses have been updated and new resources have been developed. allergy.org.au/anaphylaxis
• Several new ASCIA COVID-19 vaccination resources were developed, which have been widely accessed, contributing to the success of COVID-19 vaccine programs. allergy.org.au/members/covid-19
• Continued advocacy on behalf of ASCIA on allergy and immunology issues. allergy.org.au/ascia-reports
• More than $500,000 awarded in AIFA research grants since 2015. allergyimmunology.org.au/grants
• Several National Allergy Strategy project launches. allergy.org.au/about-ascia/info-updates/national-allergy-strategy-updates

ASCIA’s plans for 2022 include:

• Hosting of the ASCIA 2022 Hybrid Conference from Tuesday 30 August to Friday 2 September at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. 
• Launch of the ASCIA Immunodeficiency Strategy for Australia and New Zealand on Friday 29 April 2022. nationalimmunodeficiencystrategy.org.au/
• Hosting of ASCIA Allergy and Immunodeficiency Advanced Training Days in June 2022.
• Continued advocacy, including new submissions for food and drug allergy challenge MBS item numbers.
• Further expansion of ASCIA online resources
• Further expansion of ASCIA e-training courses.
• Further expansion of the AIFA research grant program.
• Continued expansion of the National Allergy Strategy.

We hope that the New Year brings happiness, health and success for you and your families. 

Kind regards, 

Professor Michaela Lucas
ASCIA President

Jill Smith
ASCIA CEO

ASCIA gratefully acknowledges the generous support of all sponsors listed on the ASCIA website www.allergy.org.au/about-ascia/sponsors 

This news item was issued on 20 December 2021 by the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA), the peak professional body for clinical immunology and allergy in Australia and New Zealand.

With the widespread use of QR codes, and two brands of adrenaline (epinephrine) injector devices now available, a QR code has been added to the general version of the red ASCIA Action Plan for Anaphylaxis and the general version of the orange ASCIA First Aid Plan for Anaphylaxis. 

The QR code links to a new ASCIA webpage www.allergy.org.au/hp/anaphylaxis/how-to-give-injector which includes instructions for both EpiPen^® and Anapen^®. Please note that  device specific plans for EpiPen^® and Anapen^® are still available.

The general ASCIA plans with QR codes are now available on the ASCIA website in several locations and have been updated in ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training courses:

www.allergy.org.au/hp/anaphylaxis/ascia-action-plan-for-anaphylaxis

www.allergy.org.au/hp/ascia-plans-action-and-treatment

www.allergy.org.au/hp/anaphylaxis/first-aid-for-anaphylaxis

The general versions of ASCIA plans have been available for several years, for the following reasons:

• To enable translations, the general orange ASCIA First Aid Plan for Anaphylaxis were introduced in 2012.
• To prepare for the situation where other brands of adrenaline injector devices may have been introduced at short notice, due to supply issues, the general red ASCIA Action Plan for Anaphylaxis was introduced in 2018.
• To provide a illustrative training tool, without being brand specific, a general red ASCIA Action Plans for Anaphylaxis and orange ASCIA First Aid Plan for Anaphylaxis have been used in ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training courses since 2018.

Adding the QR code to the general ASCIA plans provides additional information to ‘refer to device label’ for instructions. Even if people don’t use the QR code, having the code in a prominent location may highlight the fact that people can ‘refer to device label’ for instructions.

This news item was issued on 7 December 2021 by the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA), the peak professional body for clinical immunology and allergy in Australia and New Zealand.

ASCIA Food Allergy e-training for Health Professionals has been substantially updated and the new course is available from 30 November 2021.

First developed in 2011, the latest version is for suitable for medical practitioners, nurses and dietitians.

The following six modules are included:

Module 1: Food Allergy Overview

Module 2: Diagnosis, Management and Prevention of Food Allergy

Module 3: Cow’s Milk (Dairy) Allergy

Module 4: Other Conditions Related to Food Allergy

Module 5: The Role of Dietitians in Managing Food Allergy

Module 6: Final Assessment

Thank you to ASCIA members and the ASCIA team who undertook the extensive review and editing of the course over the past few years. 

Register or go to the course here

The learning outcomes for this course are:

• Differentiate between food allergy and other adverse reactions to foods, including food intolerances.
• Understand the role of medical practitioners and dietitians in the diagnosis and management of food allergy.
• Identify appropriate specialised formula choices for infants with food allergy.

This course has received support from the National Allergy Strategy and ASCIA gratefully acknowledges all of the generous supporters of ASCIA education resources, as listed on the ASCIA website https://www.allergy.org.au/about-ascia/sponsors 

This news item was issued on 30 November 2021 by the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA), the peak professional body for clinical immunology and allergy in Australia and New Zealand.

The Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport has tabled its report ‘The New Frontier: Delivering better health to all Australians’, following the Parliamentary Inquiry into approval processes for new drugs and novel medical technologies in Australia. 

The three main issues raised in the ASCIA submission to this Parliamentary Inquiry (access to treatments, genomic testing and newborn screening for SCID) that were presented on behalf of ASCIA by Prof Connie Katelaris AM, Prof Jo Douglass and Dr Melanie Wong have been included in the report.

Access to treatments was included in several recommendations and the other issues are specifically mentioned in recommendations 2 (genomic testing) and 21 (newborn screening).  

A link to this report can be found at https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Health_Aged_Care_and_Sport/Newdrugs/Report

The ASCIA submission to this Parliamentary Inquiry was lodged in November 2020 and can be found at https://www.allergy.org.au/ascia-reports#s1

This news item was issued on 26 November 2021 by the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA), the peak professional body for clinical immunology and allergy in Australia and New Zealand.

New standard of care to manage anaphylaxis will save lives

A new Acute Anaphylaxis Clinical Care Standard has been developed by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, in consultation with consumers and healthcare professionals, and is now available online at https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/standards/clinical-care-standards/acute-anaphylaxis-clinical-care-standard.

The Anaphylaxis Clinical Care Standard was launched today, 24th November, via a live one-hour webcast event. Medical experts, including Dr Preeti Joshi, discussed barriers to prompt recognition of anaphylaxis, appropriate treatment, safe discharge and best practice care after anaphylaxis.  

The National Allergy Strategy, ASCIA and Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia (A&AA) have been represented on the expert working group run by the Commission, to support the evidence review, development and launch of the Clinical Care Standard, which is consistent with ASCIA Guidelines for Acute Management of Anaphylaxis. To access the ASCIA Guidelines go to www.allergy.org.au/hp/papers/acute-management-of-anaphylaxis-guidelines

Download a copy: Acute Anaphylaxis Clinical Care Standard

Media release: National standard of care for anaphylaxis will save lives

This news item was issued on 24 November 2021 by the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA), the peak professional body for clinical immunology and allergy in Australia and New Zealand.

COVID-19 vaccination is an important way to reduce the risk of developing COVID-19, which is caused by infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Even if a person does get infected, it is likely to be a milder illness if they have been vaccinated.

Once there is a very high level of COVID-19 vaccination in the population, this can allow travel, work, schools, social activities and in person retail shopping to resume.

From an allergy perspective the only contraindication to COVID-19 vaccination is documented anaphylaxis to a previous COVID-19 vaccine or documented anaphylaxis to one of the components (excipients) contained in COVID-19 vaccines. There is limited use for skin testing to COVID vaccines and their excipients.

Anaphylaxis to vaccines is rare, and almost always occurs within 30 minutes of vaccination. Most people who have anaphylaxis to one type of COVID-19 vaccine will be able to have one of the other types of COVID-19 vaccines.

The seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic and health consequences mean that medical exemptions under the 'other specified medical condition' category are generally not issued. 

Clinical immunology/allergy specialists are strong advocates for vaccination.  Due to current waiting times of at least six months for appointments to see clinical immunology/allergy specialists, discussions about the numerous benefits and rare risks of COVID-19 vaccination may delay timely vaccination, and people seeking medical exemptions should be aware of the health consequences.

Further information is available from the ASCIA website

https://www.allergy.org.au/patients/covid-19