One day in May, 7-year-old Kaiya Lucente was cleaning her classroom after lunch when she began coughing, her face puffed up and she found it difficult to breathe. Her eyes turned red, and scarlet blotches started to appear on her face. She had had these frightening symptoms before after accidentally ingesting peanuts and knew that her severe allergic reaction then meant she must never touch them again.
But this time she had not eaten any peanuts, only a small packet of almonds, part of the lunch supplied by her school, Seika Elementary in Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture. What was going on?
The school nurse was called as Kaiya's neck swelled up, constricting her windpipe. Her eyes became small slots and she couldn't see to walk properly.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.