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The Allergy Epidemic

By 2025, the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) predicts half of Europe will suffer from at least one allergy.


Josh Wilde speaks to those affected and explores the reasons behind this startling increase.

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View the final
documentary below

Video will go live at 15:00 GMT on Thursday 13 December 2018

"We all thought it was really professionally put together and made some very clear and important points. It was a pleasure to be involved."

Doctor Ramesh Kurukulaaratchy

Principal Research Fellow and Consultant in Respiratory Medicine and Allergy

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The People Behind the Documentary

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Josh Wilde

Documentary Producer

Josh is a final year Multimedia Journalism student at Bournemouth University. He is producing this documentary as part of his course. His previous work includes broadcast documentaries titled 'Face It, It's Racist' and 'The Price of One Punch'.

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Dr Michel Lajeunesse

Leading Allergy Specialist and Paediatric Consultant

Dr Michel is an accredited European Paediatric Allergy Specialist and has also researched allergy treatment. He spoke about what happens when someone has an allergic reaction, why allergy numbers are rising and the impact of the EpiPen shortage.

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Dr Ramesh Kurukulaaratchy

Principal Research Fellow and Consultant in Respiratory Medicine and Allergy

Dr Ramesh is involved in a number of cutting edge research projects at the University Hospital Southampton. He spoke about where we are now with allergy research and its future, and showed us round one of his clinics.

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Farah Pop

Fashion Stylist and Allergy Sufferer

Farah is a 29-year-old Manchester fashion stylist who spoke to Josh about living with severe allergies. She described the way it's impacted her life and how times are changing as allergies become more recognised.

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Jess Cousins

Scriptwriting Student and Allergy Sufferer

Jess is a second year Scriptwriting student at Bournemouth University. She talks about having an allergic reaction and her wait for an Epipen which could be life-saving in an emergency.

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Mylan Pharmaceutical Company

Major UK Supplier of EpiPens

Mylan supply EpiPens to adults and juniors in the UK. Since May 2018, an manufacturing issue has led to a shortage. Despite repeated attempts, Mylan refused the request of an interview. However, they did provide a statement which will feature in the documentary.

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The Allergy Epidemic - An Introduction

  • Writer: Josh Wilde
    Josh Wilde
  • Oct 15, 2018
  • 1 min read

I will be producing a seven-minute broadcast documentary about allergies, speaking to those affected and uncovering the reasons behind a startling increase in the number of sufferers. The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology predicts half of Europe will suffer from at least one allergy by 2025.


Initially I had a number of ideas ranging from the shortage in EpiPens and what allergen information businesses provide, to investigating why teenagers are not carrying potentially life-saving equipment and the public's awareness of what to do if someone has an anaphylatic shock.


Despite the extensive news coverage recently on food labelling, specifically surrounding Pret A Manger after the tragic deaths of two women in separate incidents, there has been less said about the rise in allergies.


I wanted to investigate this further to see what reasons could be behind the increase. After speaking to some allergy sufferers who revealed they were affected by or unaware of the EpiPen shortage, I decided this will also form part of my documentary.


View the graphic I created below with key allergy statistics to provide some context:


 
 
 

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