Our allergy and clinical immunology department is the largest centre of its kind outside of London and is one of only six Department of Health recognised specialised allergy centres in the country.
It offers a comprehensive service from diagnosis to treatment for both adults and children.
The centre treats nearly 3,000 patients a year and provides investigation, diagnosis and treatment of urticaria and angiodema, children’s allergy, allergic asthma and rhinitis, contact dermatitis and eczema, food allergy, allergen desensitization, anaphylaxis, drug allergy and venom allergy.
As well as being a centre of expertise for clinical practice, the allergy and immunology unit works with the Wessex Allergy Network to provide education and dissemination of its knowledge and information to community health providers both locally and nationally.
All staff are educators and module leaders on the University of Southampton’s MSc programme in allergy. Short courses in food allergy, skin allergy or respiratory allergy are now available in conjunction with the Wessex GP educational Trust (WGPET).
The unit is also renowned for its involvement in national allergy research. Recently, Dr Mich Erlewyn-Lajeunesse (consultant pediatrician in allergy, immunology and infectious diseases) and colleagues led a project that has informed the national swine flu vaccination strategy with regard to egg allergy and vaccine associated reactions, which was published in the British Medical Journal in August 2009.
More information on allergy and immunology|.
Posted on Friday 29 January 2010