- Published:
- Thursday 2 June 2016
A Victorian first specialist clinic to treat patients allergic to the deadly sting of jack jumper ants has been established thanks to $210,000 boost from the Andrews Labor Government.
Minister for Health Jill Hennessy today launched the Jack Jumper Ant Clinic at Monash Health which will deliver a lifesaving jack jumper ant venom immunotherapy program that desensitises people with a jack jumper ant allergy.
Jack jumper ants are found across most of southern Australia and most commonly in Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia.
It is the most dangerous ant native to Australia, with its venom one of the most powerful in the insect world.
For people allergic to jack jumper ants, a sting can cause severe reactions such as anaphylaxis and be life threatening.
Until now, the closest clinic providing a jack jumper ant venom immunotherapy desensitisation program was in Tasmania, where the ant is responsible for more severe allergic reactions than bee stings.
Between two and three per cent of people are allergic to jack jumper ants and an allergic reaction to its sting can be life threatening in about half of these people.
Several deaths from jack jumper ant stings and anaphylaxis have occurred in Australia, with a number of recorded cases in recent years.
This new clinic at Monash Medical Centre will mean Victorians who suffer jack jumper allergies no longer have to travel to Tasmania to get the treatment they need.
Jack jumper ant venom immunotherapy desensitises people with allergies by gradually exposing them to increasing doses of insect venom through injections under the skin.
This safe and effective immunotherapy treatment changes how the immune system responds to insect venom, with evidence showing it can prevent severe reactions and death.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Health Jill Hennessy
“People with a jack jumper ant allergy and their loved ones are constantly living with the fear of being stung and facing a severe and deadly anaphylactic reaction.”
“This Victorian-first jack jumper ant clinic at Monash Health will give people with allergies the critical immunotherapy they need and save lives.”
“I’d like to thank the Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes and the Jack Jumper Ant Patient Support Group for their passion and hard work helping to establish this vital service for Victoria.”