Penicillin: Allergies

(asked on 4th September 2015) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many incidences of allergic reaction to penicillin during periods of maternity care were reported in each year since 2010.


Answered by
 Portrait
Jane Ellison
This question was answered on 14th September 2015

Information concerning the number of people diagnosed as being allergic to penicillin on an annual basis in England is not collected.

In September 2014, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published Drug allergy: diagnosis and management of drug allergy in adults, children and young people. The guideline states that about 10% of the general population claim to have a penicillin allergy, but fewer than 10% of people who think they are allergic to penicillin are truly allergic. A copy of the guideline can be found at the following link :

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg183

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