His Majesty (then-HRH Prince of Wales) took part in a roundtable discussion with the leading allergy scientists and Natasha’s parents at Dumfries House.
HM The King has pledged his support to ‘Shine a Light’ on the Environmental Causes of the Global Allergy Crisis
HM The King (then-HRH Prince of Wales) hosted a 2-day ‘Global Allergy Symposium’ (September 6th and 7th) at Dumfries House, the Scottish home of his educational charity, The Prince’s Foundation. His Majesty took part in a roundtable discussion with leading allergy scientists and Natasha’s parents, Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse OBEs.
The King said,
"I was moved beyond words by the tragic death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse and the way her parents have selflessly dedicated themselves to preventing other families from suffering in the same way. That is why my Prince's Foundation is hosting leading scientists and experts in the field to tackle the environmental causes of allergic disease so that no more lives are needlessly lost due to allergic reactions.’’
Natasha’s parents, Nadim Ednan-Laperouse OBE and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse OBE
The landmark ‘Global Allergy Symposium’ was led by Professor Sir Stephen Holgate and organised by The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation.
"We are absolutely thrilled that His Majesty has pledged the support of his Prince’s Foundation to tackle the allergy epidemic. It will be a game-changer for the one-in-three people in this country with an allergy. We were deeply moved by his personal interest in what is driving the allergy epidemic and how he can help us take steps to turn the tide.
“It is quite clear that biodiversity and the environment are key factors affecting the huge rise in the numbers of people with allergies. It is also clear that there is no time to lose in confronting the allergy and environment crisis alongside the climate action agenda. The learnings from this inspiring and informative symposium provide us with a blueprint for eradicating allergies and it is crucial that new landmark studies in this field are fully funded now. We at Natasha's Foundation intend to play our full role in delivering on the urgent actions required."
Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse OBE’s
HM The King, (then-HRH Prince of Wales) - hosted the 2-day event at Dumfries House, Scotland - home to The Prince’s Foundation
The Global Allergy Symposium
The idea of bringing the world’s leading allergy and environment experts together was first raised by HM The King, (then-HRH Prince of Wales) following the 2018 inquest into the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse which highlighted the growing allergy epidemic, particularly among children and young people.
The ‘Global Allergy Symposium’ discussed and formulated critical policy interventions for environmental factors such as biodiversity loss and climate change that are known to be major risk factors for emerging allergies.
It looked at how reduced biodiversity in the environment affects the body’s content of microorganisms or microbiome to increase the risk of developing allergies, the link between genes and the environment such as the role of indoor pollution in allergies, and how farming practices impact allergies.
Findings from the symposium will be used to identify the most effective policy interventions and to address the spiraling global allergy epidemic. It will also help us define the next major research trials to be funded by Natasha’s Foundation.
Seventeen world-leading allergy experts from the UK, U.S, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong and Denmark attended the event.
Nadim Ednan-Laperouse OBE, co-founder of Natasha’s Foundation, said:
“We are deeply grateful to His Majesty King Charles III for inspiring and hosting this momentous event, which involved many of the world’s leading allergy experts. This was a real opportunity to draw up a blueprint to make allergy history and will help define the next major research intervention to be supported by Natasha’s Foundation.”
Professor Sir Stephen Holgate, Professor of Immunopharmacology at the University of Southampton, a World Allergy Organisation Centre of Excellence, who has successfully campaigned for air pollution to be recognised as an asthma-related cause of death.
Speakers included:
Tari Haahtela, Professor of the University of Helsinki in Finland, who introduced the theory in 2011 that global loss of biodiversity and climate change are related to an increase in inflammatory disorders and allergies – the so-called biodiversity hypothesis.
• Deborah Meyers, Professor of Medicine at Arizona University, who is a world-renowned expert in the role of genetics in creating different types of allergy and asthma and their evolution over time;
• Donata Vercelli, Professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the Arizona College of Medicine, whose research with two distinct US farming environments - Amish and Hutterite - points to exposures during early childhood as critical in shaping the emergence or not of allergic disease;
• Erica von Mutius, Head of the Asthma and Allergy Department of the Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital of the University of Munich, whose research in Germany following the fall of the Berlin Wall shows how changes in farming practice and the way we produce our food is having a major effect on the emergence of allergy and asthma.
HM The King, (then-HRH Prince of Wales) with Natasha’s Foundation Founders; Tanya & Nadim Ednan-Laperouse OBE’s
“His Majesty’s support is a “game-changer” for people with allergies” - Natasha’s Foundation
Hospital admissions caused by food allergies have tripled over the last 20 years
In the UK, 1 in 3 people has an allergy with conditions ranging from food and drug allergies to asthma and eczema with the numbers are rising. Between 2 to 3 million people in the UK are living with food allergies; 1 in 13 children – or roughly two in every classroom now has a diagnosed food allergy.
Professor Sir Stephen Holgate, who chaired the ‘Global Allergy Symposium’, said:
“The last three decades have witnessed an unprecedented increase in the incidence of all types of allergic disease, including serious life-threatening disorders such as anaphylaxis, food allergy and asthma. This allergy epidemic is occurring as a result of complex gene-environment interactions that shape the immune system and the body’s response to them.
“We know that this is linked to modern Westernised lifestyles – especially housing, time spent indoors, diet and exposure to chemical pollutants and antibiotics – and changes to our natural environment through deforestation, for example, which in- crease exposure to air and traffic pollution.
‘However, there are still gaps in our understanding of the underlying mechanisms and interactions and this is holding back our ability to prevent allergic diseases. By shining a light on these environmental factors that are known to be major risk factors for allergies at this symposium, we can identify what and when timely interventions are likely to be most effective.”
The event was supported by the BSACI - British Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, The College of Medicine and Integrated Health, and the University of Southampton.
“Our ability to prevent allergic diseases is hindered by gaps in our understanding of the underlying mechanisms and interaction of environmental, viral, and allergen exposures with toxicological and immune pathways that impact disease development preventative therapeutic interventions.
‘Identifying those environmental factors that are known to be major risk factors where timely interventions are likely to be most effective will be a huge breakthrough.”
- Fiona Rayner, Chief Executive of the BSACI.
Seventeen world-leading allergy experts from the UK, U.S, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong and Denmark attended the event.
Professor Sir Stephen Holgate, chair of the Dumfries House ‘Global Allergy Symposium’, said:
“Allergies are largely preventable and the symposium has identified key areas of research that could help reduce the spiralling number of allergy cases. This includes biodiversity, air pollution, climate change and indoor lifestyles, as well as genetic and biological factors. However, it is imperative that we take action now. Without significant action, environmental modelling predicts that 70 per cent of people in the UK will have an allergy by 2060 - we cannot let that happen."
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