President's Message
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
I have been the fortunate recipient of compliments from many delegates who attended the WAO International Scientific Conference (WISC) 2016 in Jerusalem, Israel. However, the success of this program in large part is thanks to our speakers, partner organizations, and of course the participants, so I’d like to pass on the compliments I’ve received to the many individuals and organizations who made this meeting a success. >>Read More...
Inside the Issue
- Meet Your WAO Leaders: Prof Elham Hossny
- World Allergy Week 2017: The Agony of Hives
- World Allergy Forum on Severe Asthma at AAAAI 2017
- Severe Asthma, Online Resources
- Severe Asthma: The Art of Control - Online CME Course
- Recent Articles at WAO Journal
WAO Meetings
WAO Symposium:
Hot Topics in Allergy: Pediatric and Regulatory Aspects
Save the Date
27-29 April 2017
Rome, Italy/Vatican City
Register today to attend cutting-edge sessions! View the Online Scientific Program.
Visit www.worldallergy.org/rome2017 for more information.
Meet Your WAO Leaders - Elham Hossny
Elham Hossny, MD, PhD
Board Member, World Allergy Organization
Pediatric Allergy and Immunology Unit, Department of Pediatrics
Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
Member Society: Egyptian Society of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
What inspired you to become more involved in WAO?
I believe in the WAO mission and admire its dedication to allergy/immunology education and training. Being a board member of a WAO member society, I had the opportunity to participate in the WAO House of Delegates and scientific meetings and get involved in the WAO committees. I was fascinated by the devotion of the WAO board members and staff in serving international delegates and helping them to acquire knowledge and skills. Through my work with the WAO Board of Directors, I am eager to promote the specialty of allergy/immunology all over the world with the ultimate objective of delivering better service to patients in areas devoid of optimal medical service.
What would you like to share about the work of your national member society?
The Egyptian Society of Pediatric Allergy & Immunology (ESPAI) was founded in 2002 to serve allergists/immunologists from Egypt and the surrounding areas. The society holds an Annual International Congress that is CME accredited and three annual workshops and celebrates the WAO World Allergy Week every year by holding a symposium and workshop. It issues a biannual peer-reviewed open access journal (www.jespai.org/) and its website (www.espai-eg.org/) is widely visited by physicians and patients (Visit the Patient Education Corner).
What is one of your current special interests in the field of allergy/immunology?
My main areas of interest are: food allergy, anaphylaxis, pediatric asthma, primary immunodeficiency disorders, and vaccination.
Do you have any recent publications to share?
The use of inhaled corticosteroids in pediatric asthma: update.
Particularities of allergy in the Tropics.
Poliovirus excretion among persons with primary immune deficiency disorders: summary of data from enhanced poliovirus surveillance in Egypt, 2011-2014
International consensus on (ICON) pediatric asthma.
Asthma education material for children and their families; a global survey of current resources.
Sensitivity to five types of house dust mite in a group of allergic Egyptian children.
Peanut sensitization in a group of allergic Egyptian children.
What's New
WORLD ALLERGY WEEK 2017
How Will You Participate?
World Allergy Week 2017 (2-8 April) will focus on increasing awareness of chronic urticaria (hives and swelling) and the important role of the allergist in diagnosing and treating the disease.
Chronic urticaria is defined as episodic, or daily, hives lasting for at least six weeks and impairing quality of life. (Acute urticaria refers to hives lasting less than 6 weeks.) There is no cure for chronic urticaria. It affects the quality of life of those who suffer from it, and the suffering can last several years.
Many patients and the lay public are unaware of the multiple options available for treatment of chronic urticaria. Allergists have the professional education and experience with medications required to control urticaria and to teach patients about the condition. They can determine if the diagnosis is correct and whether there are other causes of chronic urticaria. During World Allergy Week 2017 experts will provide information to physicians and the general public about controlling urticaria with the aid of the allergist.
The prevalence of chronic urticaria on a worldwide basis has not been studied sufficiently yet. One of the goals of World Allergy Week 2017 is to draw attention to the need for more research on the global prevalence of chronic urticaria along with other unmet needs.
Please tell us what you plan to do for World Allergy Week 2017 by writing to info@worldallergyweek.org. To learn more about activities and resources, visit http://www.worldallergyweek.org/. Visit the site often for updates.
Editors' Choice Literature Review
The frequency of sleep-disordered breathing in children with asthma and its effects on asthma control
Book Review
Tattooed Skin and Health
New Education Resources
Bronchial Thermoplasty, An Option for Difficult-to-Treat Severe Asthma
Case-based learning modules
What's New in Severe Asthma Research
Protein phosphatase 5 mediates corticosteroid insensitivity in airway smooth muscle in patients with severe asthma
WAO Journal
Recent Articles
Effect of adjuvanted and standard sublingual immunotherapy on respiratory function in pure rhinitis due to house dust mite over a 5-year period View Article
An unusual cause of food-induced anaphylaxis in mothers View Article
World Allergy Organization Journal: the Editors Look Back at 2016 View Article
Anaphylaxis in a 4-year-old male caused by contact with grasses: a case report View Article
Establishing the prevalence of low vitamin D in non-immunoglobulin-E mediated gastrointestinal food allergic children in a tertiary centre View Article
Erratum to: Risk and safety requirements for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in allergology: World Allergy Organization Statement View Erratum
Is allergic sensitization relevant in severe asthma? Which allergens may be culprits? View Article
Addendum guidelines for the prevention of peanut allergy in the United States: Report of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases-sponsored expert panel View Article
Fatal asthma: is it still an epidemic? View Article
Local allergic rhinitis: entopy or spontaneous response? View Article
Asthma heterogeneity and severity View Article
Therapeutic interventions in severe asthma View Article
Omalizumab for chronic urticaria in Latin America View Article