Allergy, argues Professor Mark Jackson in his acclaimed new book 'Allergy: The history of a modern malady', is not just a collection of symptoms. Perceptions of allergy have changed markedly over time. Understanding these changes tells us much about the changing face of public health and society more generally.

The term 'allergy' was coined 100 years ago by an Austrian paediatrician, Clemens von Pirquet. Hay fever, though, was first described in 1819 by British physician John Bostock. He suggested it was a disease of the middle and upper classes, and it was soon widely accepted that only 'persons of cultivation' suffered from allergies. Professor Jackson notes that in E M Forster's Howard's End (1910), hay fever appears as the "embodiment of innate cultural refinement".

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The last century witnessed a surge in allergies. In the inter-war years, just one in 30 people suffered allergic reactions: that figure was one in three by the turn of the century. Allergies now cost the NHS more than £900 million a year.

The reasons for this increase are controversial. The finger of blame has been pointed at environmental pollutants and even an obsession with cleanliness. Indeed, argues Professor Jackson, Director of the Wellcome Trust-funded Centre for Medical History at the University of Exeter, allergy is not just a medical condition but also an "index of cultural anxiety", encapsulating fears about our lifestyles and environment. Allergies have become a powerful and pervasive metaphor for the "pathology of progress". Once seen as exclusive to the ultra-civilised, allergies are now viewed as a by-product of civilisation itself.

The book was positively reviewed in historical, medical and popular press. Publishers Weekly described it as "a masterful overview of the evolution of allergy as a public health problem". According to the Guardian, "this fascinating study is undoubtedly an important contribution to the social history of medicine". Its first print run sold out within five months.

Image: Detail of a poster held in the Wellcome Library

External links

• Jackson M. Allergy: The history of a modern malady. London: Reaktion Books;2006.