The World Health Organization recently declared H1N1 swine influenza a global pandemic, resulting in the creation of rigorous vaccination programmes worldwide. Children are among those considered particularly susceptible to contracting swine flu and are viewed as a top priority in receiving this vaccine.
Most H1N1 swine influenza vaccines are prepared from virus grown in chicken's eggs, resulting in a vaccine that contains remnants of egg proteins. Egg allergy is one of the most common food allergies in infants and young children. It can be mild or severe but often the severity level remains unidentified. Whether a child will be at low or high risk for a clinical reaction as a consequence of receiving this vaccine depends on the severity of their allergy.
Phadia offers complete laboratory testing to accurately diagnose and identify severity level of egg allergy. ImmunoCAP, Phadia's precise and reliable allergy test that measures IgE antibodies, indicates clinical reaction to both egg white (f1) and ovomucoid (f233). The f1 test will help to confirm or rule out an allergy to egg white. If an allergy to egg white is confirmed, the f233 follow-up test can be conducted to identify the severity of egg allergy and whether the child is at low or high risk for clinical reaction.
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