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ALLERGIES

Swissmedic issues allergy drug alert

Allergy sufferers in Switzerland who use the emergency injection Anapen for relief are being warned not to use the drug due to a product defect.

Published: 8 June 2012 13:24 CEST

Anapen and Anapen Junior are drugs that are injected to provide adrenaline to counteract allergic reactions, such as those that can occur from eating nuts or a wasp sting.

However, AllergyCare, the British manufacturer of the products, said some of the “auto-injectors” used to administer the product could be defective.

As a result, they could fail to release the active pharmaceutical ingredient into the body or only partly because of a possible blockage in the needles.

Swissmedic, the Swiss agency for therapeutic products, issued a warning on Friday for users of Anapen to contact a doctor immediately.

Physicians can prescribe another product aimed at counteracting allergic reactions or determine whether the patient can wait until new versions of Anapen become available, the agency said.

AllergyCare said new versions of both Anapen and Anapen Junior will be on sale in early July.

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ALLERGIES

Ragweed infestation in southern Germany poses allergy threat

Bavaria is battling the spread of ragweed, a plant indigenous to North America that causes particularly severe symptoms in allergy sufferers.

Published: 21 July 2020 16:57 CEST
Ragweed infestation in southern Germany poses allergy threat
Ragweed. Photo: DPA

“During our investigations in 2019, we found 45 new large areas of ragweed growth, bringing the total number of large areas identified to 509,” Bavarian health minister Melanie Huml (CSU) confirmed on Monday when inspecting a ragweed population in the district of Roth. 

The number of unreported cases is expected to be significantly higher.

READ ALSO: Pollen at 'unusually high levels' amid early spring in Germany

The pollen of ragweed can cause allergic reactions such as hay fever, conjunctivitis and allergic asthma in humans, even in small quantities. 

Roth is one of the most badly affected districts in Bavaria. Thirty-four large areas with more than 100 plants each have been discovered there since 2007.

Originally native to the USA, the plant has been spreading in Bavaria since the 1990s.

“The pollen of the North American ragweed, which is about to bloom, can cause severe allergic reactions in humans. That is why our aim is to stop the spread of the plant in Bavaria as much as is possible”, Huml said. 

The southern state is investing €90,000 in monitoring the weed. Some success as been had in slowing down the uncontrolled spread of the plant.

“But as our monitoring shows, the numbers are still rising. We are therefore working on a more comprehensive strategy,” said Huml.

Experts say that ragweed pollen has an allergy potential five times higher than grass pollen. About 80 percent of all pollen allergy sufferers also react to ragweed.

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