Hannah Jacobs, the 13 year-old with a severe dairy allergy who died after being served a Costa Coffee hot chocolate allegedly made with cow’s milk, has been pictured for the first time.
In the heartbreaking image, the schoolgirl is seen with a beaming smile, holding huge gold and bronze birthday balloons in the shape of the numbers ‘1’ and ‘3’.
She is wearing a lilac sash and pinned to her pretty white printed dress is an extra-large badge with the number ’13’ on it.
Hannah, from Barking in East London, died on February 8 last year after a suspected anaphylactic reaction to a hot chocolate drink.
Her mother ordered Hannah and herself a hot chocolate from their local Costa Coffee before heading to a dentist appointment.
An inquest into the death of Hannah Jacobs, 13, from London, will begin next week. Image: Leigh Day
Hannah, from Barking in East London , died on February 8 last year after a suspected anaphylactic reaction to a hot chocolate drink sold by Costa Coffee (stock image)
Hannah had severe allergies to dairy, egg, fish and wheat, which had been diagnosed as a toddler and the family had managed this well throughout her life.
According to the legal firm Leigh Day Hannah’s mother informed the barista of her daughter’s dairy allergy.
But when Hannah took a sip of the drink in the waiting room of the dental practice, she immediately told her mother the drink hadn’t been made with soy milk.
The pair then rushed to nearby pharmacy to ask for help where staff gave Hannah an EpipPen, an emergency treatment designed to combat a life threatening allergic reaction.
But, despite this and an ambulance crew arriving shortly afterward to take her to hospital, resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful.
Hannah was declared dead at 1pm that day.
An inquest will be held at East London Coroner’s Court on Monday.
Nadim Ednan-Laperouse was travelling home with his daughter Natasha (pictured), when she suffered a deadly reaction to nuts during a flight back from a dream trip to Nice on July 17, 2016
It is expected to last a week and will examine how Hannah died through the testimony of 11 witnesses and experts.
Costa Coffee has been approached for comment.
Experts estimate that 10 Brits die from an allergic reaction to food each year, with 5,000 people hospitalised for severe reactions.
Latest Government figures suggest around 2.4million adults are living with a food allergy in the UK, with hospital admissions for severe reactions more than tripling within the last 20 years.
Allergies can provoke a variety of symptoms but the most serious is a dangerous inflammation of the airways called anaphylaxis.
This can make it hard and even impossible to breath and can cause the body to go into a cardiac emergency like a cardiac arrest due to a lack of oxygen.
Children with allergies are considered to be especially at risk from severe reactions as, due to their smaller body size, small amounts of allergens provoke bigger reactions.
Allergies are also often discovered in childhood meaning parents may not have an emergency injection to hand if an allergic reaction occurs.
Bereaved families of those who have lost children to allergic reactions have repeatedly called for the Government to appoint an allergy tsar to improve NHS services and awareness of allergies, to prevent avoidable ill health and death.
Recently more than 50 campaigners and experts including ex-Towie star Megan McKenna and Love Island’s Jack Fowler, said the country wasn’t doing enough to support the millions of Brits living with allergies.
In the open letter, the coalition said the lack of a national leader for allergies has been raised ‘time and time again by coroners at the inquests’ of those who have died following severe reactions, including from products they thought were safe.
Yet of the 45 such leaders appointed by NHS England, who cover issues ranging from obesity to autism, not one is dedicated to supporting people living with allergies.
The issue of allergies, and the danger they pose to children,have been in the spotlight since the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse.
Her father was forced to watch helplessly as the 15-year-old died after suffering an allergic reaction to a Pret sandwich while on a flight from Nice.
The artichoke, olive and tapenade baguette sandwich was later discovered to have hidden amount of sesame seeds which weren’t declared on the packet. Natasha was allergic to nuts.
Speaking to MailOnline, Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse OBE, co-founders of The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, the UK’s food allergy charity, said: ‘We were devastated to hear of the death of Hannah Jacobs from a suspected anaphylactic reaction to milk, and have been supporting her family over the last year.
‘This is a complex case, involving a number of different parties, so it is vital that the circumstances surrounding Hannah’s death are fully investigated at the inquest next week.
‘The death of yet another child with food allergy underlines the severity of this serious medical condition, and the steps we all need to take – individuals, companies and the Government – to keep people with food allergies safe.’
