November 15, 2018
A second teen with an allergic reaction to nuts has been rushed to Starship Hospital - this time from Motutapu Island.
The teenaged girl, who was not named, was picked up from the Motutapu Island camp by the Westpac rescue helicopter at 7.21pm last night.
She was suffering "a severe allergic reaction", but was in a "moderate" condition, meaning that the reaction was not life-threatening.
The drama came just four days after 16-year-old Edyn Rubena-Misilisi died in hospital after eating food containing nuts in Manurewa last week.
It was also less than a month after Kerikeri High School student Dion Hodder, also 16, died of meningococcal disease after being airlifted from the Motutapu camp.
Death from allergic reaction is rare. A study of coronial autopsies in Auckland between 1985 and 2005 found only 18 anaphylactic deaths in that time - fewer than one a year on average.
But Lincoln Davies of the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust said the helicopter rescued at least one other patient with a reaction to nuts this year - a little girl who was airlifted from Pakiri Beach to Starship in a moderate condition on February 24.
The trust's land-based rapid response vehicle was also called out in downtown Auckland on October 24 after a young man in his 20s suffered a severe allergic reaction to eating peanuts in a fortune cookie and collapsed while exercising.
The man's friends performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and saved his life.
Motutapu Outdoor Education Trust manager Duncan Watson said all groups using the camp on the island were required to collect medical information on everyone who would be staying there.
"Any issues, including allergies, are noted and appropriate measures are taken to protect that person," he said.
He said schools and other organisations booking the camp were responsible for their own catering, but he would prepare a full report on what happened in the latest case as soon as possible, probably today.
He said Dion Hodder contracted meningococcal case before he came to the island, but only began to feel sick after he arrived.
