Peanut Allergy in Need of Review

Food allergy is the consequence of maladaptive immune responses to common and otherwise innocuous food antigens. Although much is known today about the prevalence of food allergy in the developed world, there are serious knowledge gaps about the prevalence rates of food allergy in developing countries. Food allergy affects up to 6% of children and 4% of adults. Symptoms include urticaria, gastrointestinal distress, failure to thrive, anaphylaxis and even death. There are over 170 foods known to provoke allergic reactions. Of these, the most common foods responsible for inducing 90% of reported allergic reactions are peanuts, milk, eggs, wheat, nuts (e.g., walnuts, almonds, cashews, etc.), soybeans, fish, crustaceans and shellfish. In the present article peanut allergy is covered only.