The unexpected death of a 16-year-old boy could be the catalyst for change as a little-known and potentially lethal allergy becomes more and more prevalent in Australia.
Jeremy Webb had trouble breathing after eating a dinner of beef sausages while camping with three friends on the NSW Central Coast on June 10, 2024.
His friends tried to revive him after he collapsed but the asthmatic teen was pronounced dead after midnight.
Experts at a coronial inquest into Mr Webb’s death agree he died of a combination of a severe allergic reaction or anaphylaxis and an acute asthmatic episode.
The role of his final meal in his death is being probed by the inquest after the teen was posthumously diagnosed with a red meat allergy that can be triggered by multiple tick bites.
Jeremy’s mother Myfanwy Webb told the inquest she and her husband had grappled with a lot of guilt and “what if” questions since the teen’s sudden death but ultimately no one was to blame.
“Jeremy’s passing was not a fault of any one individual but more of an intersection of many things that no one could have predicted,” she said on Wednesday.
“Jeremy would be pleased that, in his passing, there will be a greater awareness in the medical and wider community of the issues relevant to his death, which will help save lives.”
Mammalian meat allergy can take up to five hours after eating red meat to manifest, with symptoms such as stomach discomfort, nausea, vomiting, hives, swelling or anaphylaxis.
There has been a 40 per cent increase in diagnoses in Australia annually since 2020, the inquest was previously told, with the Sydney basin becoming a global hotspot.
An allergy expert told the inquest Mr Webb likely had the disease from childhood, based on his asthma, multiple tick bites, and record of allergy symptoms after eating red meat.
But the disease – which wasn’t diagnosed in his lifetime – didn’t slow him down, Dr Webb told the inquest in a touching tribute.
“He had a great sense of fun and adventure and enjoyed life to the brim,” she said while wiping away tears.
“He never wasted a moment living.”
A six-minute slide show set to emotional music captured highlights of Mr Webb skateboarding, biking, surfing, and mastering karate with family and friends.
Dr Webb said she felt privileged to have enjoyed almost 17 years with her extraordinary, compassionate son.
“I miss him dearly and think about him every day,” she told the coroner.
“I may never be able to hold him again but he was and will always be an integral part of my life.”
The inquest is assessing the adequacy of Mr Webb’s medical treatment, the role anaphylaxis played in his death, and whether it could have been prevented by a more thorough investigation into his conditions.
It will resume on November 28.
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