New Way to Prevent Peanut Allergies

Peanuts are among the most popular snack foods in the United States. 

花生是美国最受欢迎的零食之一。

Millions of American children are raised on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. PB&Js, as we like to call them, are found in children's lunchboxes around the country. Or at least they used to be.

数以百万计的美国儿童都是吃着花生酱和果冻三明治长大。我们喜欢称之为PB&J，在全国各地的儿童午餐盒里都有。或者至少以前是这样。

Now, many school officials ban peanuts or any products containing peanuts from school property.

现在，许多学校官员禁止学校财产中的花生或任何含有花生的产品。

About 2 percent of U.S. schoolchildren will have an allergic reaction to peanuts. And that number is growing.

大约2%的美国小学生会对花生过敏。而且这个数字还在增长。

People allergic to peanuts can develop skin conditions or watery eyes. Children with a peanut allergy can develop a skin condition called eczema. 

对花生过敏的人会出现皮肤问题或眼睛水汪汪的情况。花生过敏的儿童会发展出一种叫做湿疹的皮肤病。

Some reactions are so severe they can result in death. 

有些反应非常严重，会导致死亡。

So far, doctors have advised parents against serving peanut-containing foods to children under the age of 3. But a 2015 British study found that waiting too long most likely is partly to blame for the peanut allergy problem.

到目前为止，医生建议家长不要为3岁以下儿童提供含花生的食物。但英国2015年的一项研究发现，等待时间过长很可能是花生过敏问题的部分原因。

Anthony Fauci is head of America's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Fauci spoke to VOA on Skype. He notes that in Israel, people have a tradition of feeding peanuts to babies.

安东尼·福奇是美国国家过敏和传染病研究所的所长。福奇博士在Skype上接受美国之音采访。他指出，在以色列，人们有给婴儿喂花生的传统。

He says the percentage of Israeli children with a peanut allergy is much lower than the rate among Jewish children living in England.

他说，以色列儿童对花生过敏的比例远低于居住在英国的犹太儿童。

"It was observed that in Israel -- where they have a custom of feeding peanut-based foods to babies, infants, within the first few months of life -- that when you, in fact, compare the incidence of peanut allergy among the Israeli children compared to comparable Jewish children living in England, the incidence of peanut allergy was more than 80 percent decreased among the Israeli kids as opposed to the kids who are living in England."

“据观察，在以色列，他们有一个习惯，在婴儿出生后的头几个月内，给他们喂花生类食物，事实上，当你将以色列儿童中花生过敏的发病率与居住在英国的犹太人儿童相比较时，与居住在英国的儿童相比，以色列儿童的花生过敏发病率下降了80%以上。”

Dr. Fauci says this finding is very important. It means that babies have a natural mechanism that can be trained not to react negatively to peanuts. That mechanism may turn off as the baby reaches the age of 1.

福西博士说这一发现非常重要。这意味着婴儿有一个天生的机制，可以训练不要对花生做出负面反应。当婴儿1岁时，这个机制可能会关闭。

He says a team of experts have agreed on new guidance for U.S. pediatricians who specialize in children's allergies.

他说，专家小组已经同意为美国儿科医生专门指导儿童过敏的新指导。

Fauci calls giving children peanuts a way of "challenging" their bodies. He thinks it could be done safely with some boys and girls, but not with others.

福西称给孩子花生是一种“挑战”他们身体的方式。他认为对一些男孩和女孩来说这是安全的，但对其他人来说则不然。

"If the child has a history of severe eczema or egg allergy, that in the first 4 to 6 months of life, that you should bring the child to an allergy specialist who can do a skin test or a blood test to determine if the child does have an underlying allergy to peanuts. Because if they do, you are going to want to refrain from challenging that child. Whereas if they don't, then it would be safe to challenge the child and feed them peanuts at 4 to 6 months."

“如果孩子有严重湿疹或鸡蛋过敏史，在出生后的头4到6个月，你应该带孩子去看过敏专家，他可以做皮肤测试或血液测试，以确定孩子是否对花生有潜在过敏。因为如果他们这样做，你会想避免挑战这个孩子。如果他们不这样做，那么在4到6个月内挑战孩子并喂他们花生是安全的。

If the child has moderate eczema and has a mild reaction to eggs, the doctor is likely to suggest that that child be fed peanut-containing foods at the age of 6 months. That child may need no allergy tests either.

如果孩子有中度湿疹，对鸡蛋有轻微的反应，医生很可能建议孩子在6个月的时间里喂含花生的食物。那孩子可能也不需要过敏测试。

Children who have no allergies or family history of allergies can be given peanuts at any age.

没有过敏症或过敏症家族史的儿童在任何年龄都可以吃花生。