More than eight million Australians are estimated to live with allergic disease leading to mounting costs and unprecedented demand for allergy services.
A new report developed for the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) and the National Allergy Council (NAC) revealed the annual financial burden had reached $18.9 billion, up from $7.8 billion in financial burden reported in 2007.
This includes direct health system costs, productivity losses and efficiency losses, with an average financial cost of $2,318 per person living with allergic disease.
Read Costly Reactions: The economic and social cost of allergic disease in Australia and key report highlights at the ASCIA website.