CUH launches Ireland's first public treatment programme for children with peanut and tree nut allergies

Oral immunotherapy treatment involves the gradual introduction of an allergenic food in increasing amounts into the diet of children aged under five, helping them build tolerance, and helping the immune system reduce the risk and severity of allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis

(Left to right) Dr Juan E. Trujillo Wurttele, Consultant Paediatric Allergist at Cork University Hospital, Dr Sadhbh Hurley, Consultant Paediatrician at Cork University Hospital, Jennifer Kelly, Jack O'Brien and Dr Colin Hawkes, Consultant Paediatric Endocrinologist at Cork University Hospital at the launch of Ireland's first and only publicly funded Oral Immune Tolerance (OIT) Service for children with peanut and tree nut allergies. 

Cork University Hospital (CUH) has launched the country’s first publicly-funded specialist treatment programme for children with peanut and tree nut allergies – a move hailed by experts as a major milestone for allergy care in Ireland.

The hospital has become the first and only public hospital here to offer the life-changing food oral immunotherapy (OIT) programme to children aged under five, as part of routine clinical care.