Venom Allergy

The goal of this laboratory and observational study is to develop a test to quantify B-regulatory cells in blood. This will be used to detect changes in B-regulatory cell populations in pollen and insect venom allergic patients who are receiving routine allergen immunotherapy treatment. The primary question this study aims to answer is; 1). Are changes in blood B-regulatory cells associated with successful allergen immunotherapy treatment, and therefore do these changes suggest patients have developed a suitable level of allergen tolerance and reduction in their allergic symptoms upon re-exposure to the causal allergen. Patients will also be asked to complete quality of life questionnaire periodically throughout the study to determine if there are associations between variation in B-regulatory cell populations in blood and allergic symptoms experienced.

The goal of this exploratory pilot study is to generate early data needed for future validation studies of the automated BÜHLMANN BAT (Basophil activation test) assay. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does the BAT assay use the optimal allergen concentrations for stimulation, and how do its preliminary cut-offs perform in a real-world clinical scenario? Participants older than 1.5 years who are being evaluated for possible allergy sensitization will provide one additional blood tube during their routine blood draw as part of the regular medical care. The study involves only one visit and does not provide direct personal benefit.

Jack Jumper ant (JJA) venom allergy is a uniquely Australian medical condition. It is the leading cause of venom allergy and affects up to three per cent of the population. 70 percent of people with JJA allergy will have another reaction on a repeat sting and this sensitivity appears to persist for many years. Venom immunotherapy (VIT) has been shown to be a safe and effective treatment in the prevention of severe systemic allergic reactions (anaphylaxis) to future stings. It is currently offered to patients as standard care in Tasmania, South Australia and Victoria. However, whilst JJA VIT has been used for many years, there is a lack of evidence on the long-term benefit of the treatment and how it impacts patient quality of life. This trial will offer patients who have completed a JJA VIT program (between 3 and \< 6-years duration) and have been off-treatment for at least 18-months and \< 5 years, to have a supervised JJA sting challenge and blood test to assess their JJA venom tolerance level. It will also ask them to complete a set of questionnaires at different timepoints to obtain a history of their exposure and reactions to JJA stings outside of the hospital setting (field stings), and to measure the impact of the completed VIT and knowledge of their sting challenge outcome on their quality of life and their behaviours around auto-injectors. These measures will be used to explore the long-term effectiveness of JJA VIT and the impact of a sting challenge post VIT on a patient's quality of life.

The goal of this observational study is to evaluate the role of IgE proteoforms in healthy volunteers and in patients with type I allergy, patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria, patients with a recent history of anaphylaxis, patients with mastocytosis, patients with hereditary alpha tryptasemia, patients with X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA), and patients undergoing desensitization for venom or medication allergy.