Foodborne anaphylaxis has increased dramatically in recent decades: some countries report a 350% growth in hospital admissions. In addition, about 20% of serious allergic reactions occur at school. However, few data are collected and published on this issue in the country, which illustrates the lack of attention of the Ministries of Health and Education in this regard.
Quebec is unfortunately at the bottom of the class in terms of the supervision of allergic students, being the only Canadian province to have no regulations or legislation on the subject. This leaves it up to each school service center and school administration to establish and apply its own protocol as best it can.
This results in dubious practices, such as keeping auto-injectors in the school office rather than within immediate reach of the allergic person, or even ineffective measures such as banishing certain foods and isolating students with food allergies.
On this subject… let’s go back to the famous ban on allergens in schools: this ban on including foods with high allergenic potential in children’s meals. Popularized in the 2000s, this action was intended as a safety net to protect young people with allergies from possible accidental contact with peanuts or tree nuts, which were then considered to be the main culprits of serious allergic reactions.
The situation has changed a lot, and today, a dozen foods are listed by Health Canada as being priority allergens. They alone account for approximately 90% of allergic reactions. Considering that one out of five severe reactions occurs in schools, as mentioned above, it is utopian to think that the withdrawal of certain foods ensures the protection of allergic young people. On the contrary, a false sense of security can be transmitted to these children, who are usually well aware of their condition, and therefore accustomed to not sharing their meal.
The flagrant lack of standardization and supervision has however been communicated to the government authorities concerned for more than 15 years by various organizations, working groups and coalitions. Multiple actions, meetings and even the filing of a bill remained a dead letter. This important public health issue is stagnating.
Allergies Québec has been campaigning for this cause for more than 30 years. This patient association recently collaborated with the Direction régionale de santé publique de Montréal and other key players to develop a guide to good practices in the area of anaphylaxis. This has been distributed to schools in the region and is available online, but its use remains at the schools’ discretion.
It is therefore imperative that the government recognize the importance and urgency of putting in place clear and scientifically sound guidelines, as well as adequate training for responders, teachers and other staff. Let us properly ensure the safety of the 75,000 allergic children attending schools in Quebec.
Our neighboring province of Ontario did just that by passing Sabrina’s Law in 2006, two years after a young girl died of an anaphylactic reaction at her school.
In Quebec, the last food allergy-related death in schools occurred in 2011.
Why wait any longer?
* Also signed this text:
Stéphanie Arsenault, special education teacher
Caroline Ayotte, mother of an allergic child
Amélie Baraby, Secretary, Allergies Québec Board of Directors
Véronique Bastien, dietetics technician at CHU Sainte-Justine
Olivier Beaudoin, Treasurer, Allergies Québec Board of Directors
Dr. Moshe Ben-Shoshan, Pediatric Allergist, Montreal Children’s Hospital
Alexandre Bigras, Director General, French College Montreal and Longueuil Annexes
Annie Bolduc, physiotherapist and mother of allergic children
Marie-Eve Bouchard, nutritionist
Maryse Boutin, nutritionist at CHU Sainte-Justine and member of the scientific committee of Allergies Québec
Jennifer Brodeur, Administrator, Allergies Québec Board of Directors
Guillaume Brunet, Past President, Allergies Québec Board of Directors
Luigi Carola, Administrator, Allergies Québec Board of Directors
Tamara Chiasson, Director, Exponentiel Consulting
Jaime Damak, mother of an allergic child
Kim Dufour, mother of an allergic child
Dr. Marie-Josée Francoeur, administrator on the board of directors of Allergies Québec and pediatric allergist at Charles-Le Moyne Hospital
Christine Gadonneix, nutritionist
Dr. Rémi Gagnon, allergist at the Capital Allergy Clinic and President of the Association of Allergists and Immunologists of Quebec
Jennifer Gerdts, executive director, Food Allergy Canada
Cosette Gergès, nutritionist for Pediatric Nutritionists and member of the scientific committee of Allergies Québec
Anne-Marie Hamel, content manager, Allergies Québec
Dr. Simon Hotte, allergist at the MédiGo clinic (Gatineau) and member of the scientific committee of Allergies Québec
Renée-Maude Jalbert, Administrator, Allergies Québec Board of Directors
Gertie Kreling, Philanthropy Advisor and Administrative Coordinator, Allergies Québec
Brigitte Lafleur, spokesperson and mother of an allergic child, Allergies Québec
Kim Leduc-Murray, Director of Operations, Allergies Québec
Hélène Leroux, nutritionist
Dr. Andrew Moore, allergist, Johns Hopkins Regional Physicians, and member of the scientific committee of Allergies Québec
Vanessa Perrone, nutritionist and mother of an allergic child
François-Xavier Seigneur, Administrator, Allergies Québec Board of Directors
Dominique Seigneur, Director of Communications, Allergies Québec
Andréanne Tremblay-Lebeau, nutritionist and health manager, Allergies Québec
Marie-Christine Trépanier-Houle, Consulting Director, Exponentiel Conseil
Valérie Vaillancourt, nutritionist