EDUCATION NEWS
News from Universities
University of Queensland
Childhood egg allergy down 17 per cent after dietary guideline change
Research led by UQ and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute has found that Australian guidelines recommending egg be introduced into a child’s diet within the first year of life have led to a 17 per cent drop in the number of children with egg allergy, based on a study of 7,200 children across two population-based studies. Australia has one of the highest rates of food allergy in the world, with one in 10 infants allergic to one or more foods. Associate Professor Jennifer Koplin said this is the first study to show a population-level reduction in egg allergy following new infant feeding guidelines, with the effect even more pronounced in babies with eczema, where egg allergy rates fell from 35 per cent to 22 per cent. Current advice recommends introducing well-cooked egg and smooth peanut butter around six months of age, a significant shift from 1990s and early-2000s guidance that recommended delaying allergenic foods until age one to three for children with a strong family history of allergy.
Hidden antibiotic reservoirs found to drive antimicrobial resistance
A joint study by UQ and the University of Exeter has found that antibiotic transformation products, the chemical compounds formed when antibiotics degrade, can drive antimicrobial resistance in bacteria at levels comparable to the original drug, even after passing through wastewater treatment and being discharged into rivers and seas. Up to 90 per cent of antibiotics taken by humans pass through the body into sewage systems and ultimately reach treatment plants, contributing to what researchers call a “silent pandemic” already linked to five million deaths globally each year. UQ PhD candidate Pooja Lakhey, lead author of the study, said wastewater treatment is widely considered to reduce antibiotic concentrations but doesn’t necessarily eliminate them, with samples from Queensland and Cornwall both showing bacteria developing resistance from breakdown products of three antibiotic classes. Encouragingly, researchers also identified some treatment sites with effective removal of these compounds, suggesting wastewater treatment plants may be part of the solution.
Proposal for dedicated disability sport hub in Toowoomba
UQ researchers have proposed a dedicated sport and physical activity hub in Toowoomba for people with disability in the Darling Downs region, which would deliver three evidence-based programs targeting physical health, mental wellbeing and social inclusion for children and adults. Professor Sean Tweedy said that after two years of consultation with more than 100 people including those with lived experience of disability, the consistent message was that disability services in the region are fragmented, travel is excessive and access to specialised support is limited. Darling Downs Health has provided in-principle support, while Southern Queensland Rural Health and UQ’s Rural Clinical School would contribute staff and resources, also providing supervision for allied health students in exercise physiology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. The hub would also support talent identification ahead of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games and provide a lasting Games legacy, though Professor Tweedy was careful to note this remains a proposal, not a funded program.