DGAKI’s mission is to advance research, education, guideline development, and evidence-based patient care across the spectrum of allergic and immunological disease.
The German Society for Allergology and Clinical Immunology (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Allergologie und Klinische Immunologie [DGAKI]) is Germany’s leading scientific medical society in the field of allergy and clinical immunology, bringing together clinicians and researchers from paediatrics, pneumology, dermatology, otorhinolaryngology, immunology, and environmental medicine.
OVERVIEW
A central pillar of DGAKI’s work is the development and updating of national guidelines. Current and ongoing activities focus particularly on anaphylaxis, allergen immunotherapy, food allergy, atopic dermatitis, and allergy prevention, areas that reflect the breadth of modern allergology, from emergency management and disease-modifying therapies to long-term care of chronic inflammatory conditions and prevention from early life onwards. DGAKI is also committed to making future guideline work increasingly gender-sensitive, ensuring that sex- and gender-related aspects of disease risk, presentation, and treatment response are more consistently reflected in evidence-based recommendations.
Beyond guideline development, DGAKI is actively engaged in strategic and research-oriented initiatives that aim to strengthen allergy care in Germany. These include the Nationaler Aktionsplan Allergologie (NAP), which seeks to improve the visibility, coordination, and long-term delivery of allergology within the healthcare system, as well as the ‘Early Risk Assessment and Recognition of Allergies in Children’ Task Force, which focuses on structured early recognition and prevention of allergic disease in paediatric care. DGAKI also contributes to the Network for Online Registration of Anaphylaxis (NORA) anaphylaxis registry, which has generated important real-world data on triggers, cofactors, and management of severe allergic reactions. In chronic inflammatory disease, DGAKI members are involved in TREATgermany, for atopic dermatitis, and German Asthma Net (GAN), for severe asthma, initiatives including collaborative work on biologics and registry-based approaches in paediatric and adult care.
Education remains another core priority. DGAKI’s annual and topic-focused meetings provide a platform for scientific exchange and continuing professional development across the field. Key activities include the Mainzer Allergie-Workshop, Allergologie Kompakt, and Allergie im Fokus, all of which translate current evidence into practical clinical learning. A major highlight is the 21st Deutscher Allergiekongress, taking place in Wiesbaden, Germany in October 2026, which will bring together clinicians, scientists, and early-career colleagues from across the German-speaking allergy community.
DGAKI’S PERSPECTIVE ON THE ALLERGY AND IMMUNOLOGY LANDSCAPE IN GERMANY
From a German perspective, allergy and clinical immunology are currently shaped by two parallel developments: substantial scientific progress on the one hand, and persistent structural challenges in healthcare delivery on the other. Precision medicine, biologics, molecular diagnostics, and a better understanding of inflammatory endotypes are transforming the care of patients with severe asthma, atopic dermatitis, chronic urticaria, food allergy, and other immune-mediated diseases. These advances represent a major success for the field and have already improved outcomes for many patients with severe or difficult-to-control disease.
At the same time, the burden of allergic disease remains high, and the translation of innovation into routine care is still uneven. Access to specialist allergy services varies across regions, and allergy expertise is not always sufficiently integrated into primary care, paediatric care, or emergency care pathways. This is particularly relevant in food allergy and anaphylaxis, where timely diagnosis, structured education, and emergency preparedness remain essential. Prevention is another key challenge. Germany has a strong tradition of allergy research and guideline-based care, but more effort is needed to implement preventive strategies consistently from early childhood onwards and to strengthen awareness of allergic disease across the wider healthcare system.
Environmental change adds a further layer of complexity. Longer pollen seasons, changing allergen exposure, and the interaction between environmental factors and chronic airway disease are increasingly relevant in daily clinical practice and in public health planning. In this setting, DGAKI sees its role as both scientific and strategic: to support evidence-based care, to promote interdisciplinary collaboration, and to help ensure that advances in allergy and immunology translate into real benefit for patients. Strengthening prevention, improving access to specialist expertise, and integrating precision medicine into routine care will remain key priorities for the years ahead.
