食物过敏症“挑食”孩子伤不起.docVIP

食物过敏症“挑食”孩子伤不起 　　More children are showing food allergies， including peanuts， but medical investigators don’t have a clear explanation for the increase. 　　Earlier this month a 13-year-old California girl with a peanut allergy died in her father’s arms after unknowingly consuming a small amount of peanut butter in a snack she was eating. The girl quickly spit out the small bit of peanut butter， but efforts to save her life， including multiple injections that should have brought her allergic reaction to a halt， were futile. 　　The teen’s death brings to light the dangers faced by those with severe food allergies. 　　The number of all allergies， including peanuts， is rising， said Dr. Sami Bahna， chief of allergy at Louisiana State University. 　　The World Health Organization says food allergies appear to be on the rise in all industrialized nations and considers it an important health issue. According to a report in May from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention， the number of U.S. children who have food allergies rose by 50 percent from 1997 to 2011.In particular， peanut allergies among children appear to have tripled between 1997 and 2008， according to a study published in 2010. 　　There is still no cure for food allergies， although the federal government’s investment in food allergy research has risen from $4 million in 2004 to $31 million today， said John Lehr， CEO of Food Allergy Research Education， a Washington， D.C.， nonprofit. 　　“But more work is needed，” he said.“Scientists do not yet know why there has been an increase in food allergy 1）prevalence.” 　　Food allergies involve the immune system and can be life-threatening. 　　Bahna emphasized that true food allergies are much less common than positive skin tests show. For example， peanut allergies affect 1 percent of the population， and of those， only a tenth are severely 2）anaphylactic， capable of causing a sudden， severe and possibly lifethreatening reaction. Ninety percent of peanut reactions ar